IND v AUS 2020, 1st ODI: Australia's predicted playing XI

Unlike their opposition, Australia have played international cricket and several intra-squad matches in the lockdown era, and will have a fair idea of their team going into the first ODI against India.

While the visitors have only IPL performances as a recent indicator of form, Australia will mostly look for continuity after their tour of England in September. Despite Kane Richardson's withdrawal from the squad, Australia can boast of a full-strength line-up to counter the Men in Blue.

With a squad packed with all-rounders, and with some of the highest-ranked bowlers and batsmen in their ranks, expect the Aussies to go into the series as favourites by a small margin. There is a glut of players, particularly in the middle order, who may not get a chance at all.

Here is the playing XI for Australia against India in the first of three ODI games.

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Openers: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c)

Warner, Finch and Smith make up the backbone of the Australian batting order.

The most yawningly simple decision in this prediction is that of the openers. Finch is the first name on the team sheet as the skipper. Partnering him is someone who has been one of Australia's key men over the years, with great IPL 2020 form to boot.

Had David Warner not been banned for life from Australian captaincy after the Cricket Australia cultural review, he would also have occupied an important position in the leadership group.

While Aaron Finch did not have the best IPL and even his place in the RCB lineup towards the end, he will be batting in his comfort zone. The duo will look to recreate their scintillating partnership of 258 that won them the match against India by 10 wickets earlier this year.

The other players who could take up an opening role include Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade. However, the team management is unlikely to tinker with a successful combination.

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Middle order: Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk)

Can Labuschagne turn an impressive start into a dominant ODI career?

Steve Smith walks into the XI for Australia, with an erratic IPL 2020 season being a minor blip on his recent record. Accompanying him at No. 4 should be Marnus Labuschagne.

The duo form a formidable partnership in Test matches, and would look to replicate something similar in the shorter format - Labuschagne has more than shown his capability to do so. They should force out competitors such as Moises Henriques, who has been in and around the setup for a while but has not been able to put a foot in the door.

The biggest conundrum for Australia would be for the wicketkeeper's spot. While Alex Carey looks set to retain the spot after an under-pressure hundred against England in the final ODI, Matthew Wade was roped in as his replacement in the final T20 against England. Unimpressive performances in his limited IPL 2020 opportunities do not bode well for him as well.

However, given the amount of faith the Aussie camp place in their former vice-captain, Carey is unlikely to be benched.

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All-rounders: Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins

Once labelled the "Biggest Threat" by Virat Kohli, Stoinis will look to live up once again.

The two floaters in the Australian ODI lineup, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis would be expected to chip in with the ball as well.

While Maxwell had an immensely forgettable IPL 2020 in which he notably did not hit a single six, Stoinis was a hero for DC on a few occasions and a reliable contributor on most others as he enjoyed a profitable season. The duo will look to attack the opposition's spinners and quicks in the middle overs.

One of the all-round stars for KKR in a dismal season as a unit, Pat Cummins didn't quite justify all of his lofty price tag but showed his international quality with bat and ball. His best performance, crucially, came in KKR's final league game in a humbling defeat for Steve Smith's RR which should give him confidence heading into the series. With runs under his belt of late, Cummins would also look to lengthen the batting order with some clean hits.

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Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Adam Zampa had a profitable outing against Virat Kohli in particular during their last encounter.

One of Australia's most venomous quicks in the past few years, Aussie spearhead Mitchell Starc will be expected to produce his trademark express pace and swing.

Partnering him will be the consistent Josh Hazlewood. The fast bowler is of a similar mould to the legendary Glenn McGrath, and looks to target the right line and length as compared to blowing batsmen away with pace.

Seeing the success of leg-spinners in the IPL (the likes of Rashid Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal and Rahul Chahar did well), Adam Zampa would be keen to impress. Although he found it hard to find a regular place in the RCB lineup, he will be Australia's first-choice spinner to trouble the Indian middle-order ahead of Ashton Agar's left-arm orthodox.

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Australia's Predicted Playing XI for first IND v AUS ODI:

Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins (vc), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood