World Cup: Good Luck Sand Art For India As Team Elects To Bat Against Australia

Puri: As India and Australia squared up for what is being called a blockbuster World Cup 2019 clash at The Oval on Sunday, artist Sudarsan Pattnaik wished the former good luck though his sand art on Puri sea beach.

Meanwhile, India skipper Virat Kohli has elected to bat after wining the toss. “We are gonna bat first, looks a nice wicket. It’s been used before and it’ll get slower as the game goes on. Best conditions to bat first and put some runs on the board. The bowling attack can put pressure on the opposition in the second half,” he said.

The Australians are streets ahead in the head-to-head count, winning eight of its 11 World Cup matches against India. However, India are the only team that has denied the Australians the trophy in the last five editions of the match.

Earlier this year, India had clinched their first-ever bilateral ODI series in Australia.

Both the teams have made no changes in their Playing XI.

India’s playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (captain), Lokesh Rahul, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Australia’s playing XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch (captain), Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Australia defeated West Indies by 15 runs in their previous match while India started their World Cup on a high by defeating South Africa by six wickets with Rohit Sharma scoring an unbeaten century.