World Cup 2023, India vs Australia: Mitchell Starc vs Indian top-order and other key battles

The 2023 ICC World Cup is already underway, with New Zealand defeating defending champions England in commanding fashion in the opening game and Pakistan collecting their first points with an 81-run win the following day.

World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table

The tournament also witnessed its first double header on Saturday with Bangladesh comprehensively defeating Afghanistan in Dharamsala and South Africa taking on Sri Lanka in Delhi in the other encounter.

Hosts India, meanwhile, begin their campaign against five-time champions Australia on Sunday in Chennai. Given how intense matches between these two sides have been in recent months, Sunday’s showdown promises to be every bit a firecracker of a contest.

Ahead of the India-Australia fixture, we take a look at some of the key player battles between the two teams:

Mitchell Starc vs Indian top-order

Mitchell Starc was a key performer in Australia’s 2-1 series victory over India in the first of two three-match ODI series between the two sides that took place right after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and right before the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Starc had given Australia solid hope of defending a modest 188 with 3/49 in the first one-dayer before KL Rahul’s unbeaten 75 ruined the evening for the Aussies. He would then collect 5/53 in the following game and help bundle the Men in Blue for 117, setting up a commanding 10-wicket win.

What was common in both performances was the fact that the left-arm seamer managed to prise out top-order wickets. When in his element, Starc can be quite deadly with the movement that he is able to generate early on, and should test Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill (if he plays) in the opening powerplay.

Virat Kohli vs Adam Zampa

Virat Kohli vs Adam Zampa has been one of the more closely-followed battles in India vs Australia contests over the years. There was a time when the Australian leg-spinner had Kohli’s number, both in international cricket as well as in the Indian Premier League. However, Kohli has fought back in some of the more recent fixtures that coincided with the former India captain regaining his form.

Zampa his dismissed Kohli a total of eight times in international cricket — five of them in ODIs. Kohli, on the other hand, has been in a rich vein of form of late, scoring a century in the recent Asia Cup against Pakistan among others.

Steve Smith vs Jasprit Bumrah

A contest between Australia’s No 1 batter and India’s No 1 bowler should be a battle for the ages. Keeping Smith quiet on the day will be a top priority for the Men in Blue heading into their opening game of the tournament. And given the kind of form that Bumrah has exhibited since making his comeback into the Indian team during the tour of Ireland, he will certainly be backing himself to grab they important wicket.

Jasprit Bumrah has had a successful run since making his comeback in the tour of Ireland. AP

Bumrah has dismissed Smith just once in his career — all the way back in 2016 in his debut series, and he’ll be looking to add to that number come Sunday.

David Warner vs Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj has grown by leaps and bounds as a new-ball operator for India in ODIs, especially during Bumrah’s absence due to a back injury, and was especially devastating in the recent Asia Cup, where he single-handedly decimated Sri Lanka in the final with figures of 6/21.

David Warner, making his final appearance in an ICC event, has had a solid run with the bat of late, scoring a century and a fifty in the ODI series in South Africa followed by a hat-trick of half-centuries against India. The southpaw, however, has shown the occasional weakness against the moving ball, especially one that moves away, and that’s one area that Siraj could exploit to inflict an early blow onto the Aussies.

Glenn Maxwell vs Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav has been India’s standout bowler this year with 33 wickets in ODIs, the highest among bowlers from Full Nations and the second after Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane in the extended list.

Kuldeep Yadav has been the highest wicket-taker in 2023 among bowlers representing Full Nations. AP

Glenn Maxwell, meanwhile, can become something of an unstoppable force in the middle overs once he gets settled at the crease and has his eye in, and often produces the kind of knocks that prove to be the difference.

The ‘Big Show’ was seen training with a left-arm wrist bowler in the nets ahead of the Chepauk showdown, and it’s clear who he has in mind while training for Sunday’s fixture.

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