World Cup 2019, Match 14, India vs Australia: Why India will win the match

Defending champions, Australia will go head-to-head with long-time rivals, India in the 14th match of ICC World Cup 2019 at the Oval. India and Australia have faced each other in 8 ODIs this year with both teams have won 4 games each. Australia will be high on momentum having won their last 3 ODI matches versus India.

India, on the other hand, have been able to recover from the home series defeat as well as the loss to the Kiwis in the warm-up game with successive victories over Bangladesh (warm-up game) and South Africa. The Indian team dominated both the matches but they will have a tough time dealing with Aaron Finch's men in their 2nd World Cup match.

The last time these two teams met in the ICC World Cup was in the semifinals of the 2015 edition where Australia knocked India out of the World Cup. In the 2011 World Cup, the two nations locked horns in the quarterfinals where India ended Australia's campaign. This is the first time in 16 years that India will take on Australia in a group stage encounter.

However, putting all the numbers aside, let us shift our focus on tomorrow's encounter. Both the teams are evenly matched. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya are the cornerstones of the Indian batting department while the Aussies have David Warner, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell to bank on in their ranks.

India has Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav as their key wicket-takers whereas Australia has Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa. There is nothing to separate between the two teams.

However, the one department where India appears to be stronger than Australia is the spin-bowling department. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal can make life difficult for the Aussie batsmen. If they get their line and lengths right, then the Australians will find it hard to score runs in the middle overs.

The two things that can help India secure the victory against Australia are the leg-spinners and the top 3. It will take a special effort from either of the two to take India over the line.

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