Daijiworld Media Network - Sports

Perth, Jan 12: India's last ODI assignment was their home series against South Africa. Things did not go according to plan though as the Men in Blue lost 2-3 to the Proteas. On the other hand, Australia last played an ODI series back in September, when they successfully overpowered England in their own backyard after the 2015 Ashes. As said earlier, a lot has changed for both sides since then, thanks to injuries, retirement and poor form.

'I feel it's a bilateral series where a lot of new individuals will get a chance. So it will be very exciting.' These were MS Dhoni's words at the pre-match press conference. Good morning everyone and welcome to the first game of the 5-match ODI series. There have been a lot of change in personnel in both sides from their last series. For India, the likes of Raina, Rayudu, Mohit, Harbhajan, Mishra and Binny are missing. Jadeja, Ishant, return to the side, while the selectors have also included fresh faces like Manish Pandey, Rishi Dhawan and Barinder Sran.

India have won the toss and have opted to bat

Smith: 'I was actually thinking about bowling because of the overhead conditions. We have got some young exciting talent in Joel Paris and Scott Boland, they are making their debuts. James Faulkner makes a comeback as well. We have played well in the last couple of years and I am confident that we can play well in this series and stay No. 1 in the world.'

Dhoni: 'We have decided to bat first. Usually it is quite dry and hot here, but it's good to have a bit of cloud cover. It was good to have a couple of practice games here. It is always exciting to have new faces in the side. It's good to be here (in Australia). People love competitive cricket.'

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Barinder Sran

Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith(c), George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade(w), James Faulkner, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Joel Paris

The players are out for the national anthems. It is a bit windy at the WACA. Looks a bit cloudy but yeah fast bowlers will be licking their lips under these conditions. Speaking of fast bowlers Joel Samuel Paris, the lanky left-arm pacer, who replaced Mitchell Starc got his wish true. A debut on his home ground that is. 'A very good morning' greets Harsha Bhogle on air who adds there is a bit of drizzle around. Josh Hazlewood will start the 5-match ODI series. Two slips in place for him...

So Ishant is left out. Remember, he had a minor cut on his index finger on his bowling hand. He did not bowl in both the warm-up games and only bowled a long spell in the second half of the team's training session yesterday. Probably that is the reason why he has been left out.

Death bowling has been India's biggest problem and during their training, the pacers were seriously addressing the issue. In fact, they took a leaf out of Lasith Malinga's book and practiced hard by placing a pair of shoes near the batting crease to get their yorkers right.

Vishaal Loganathan, who is at the ground, delights us with this update. 'It was drizzling earlier, but it has stopped now and the covers are off. Both teams are warming-up.'

Australia have already announced their XI. With Mitchell Johnson retiring and Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins out with injuries, Steven Smith's side will have two debutants in Joel Paris and Scott Boland.