2 weeks Ago
India return to the very ground where they lost the 2023 ODI World Cup final, for the first time since that dreaded night of November 19. The opposition is Australia's arch-rival England and the visitors have a series to save on Wednesday, February 12. Ahmedabad hasn't been a great hunting ground for India in the ODI format with just 11 wins in 20 appearances and the wounds of the lost World Cup final after a terrific competition are still fresh.
However, this is a slightly different team and a wholly different context in terms of the importance of the game. It is more important for England rather than India since the hosts have already sealed the series 2-0 and the visitors just haven't been up to speed in the format in recent times. England have one final chance to look at the combination and maybe test Tom Banton who has been added as a cover for the series finale in place of Jacob Bethell.
Ahmedabad in recent times, since the renovation, has become a chasing ground because of the dimensions, ground conditions and dew. The World Cup 2023 final is the biggest example and even in the , the chasing team is never out of it, even though it's a different format. Overall records suggest that there's not much between batting first and batting second with 15 and 16 wins respectively.
However, recent results will tempt the captain to win the toss and field. If India win toss, they would want to bat first to test themselves in unfavourable conditions having chased down totals in the first two games. The average score batting first here is 243 but even in the ODI series between India and New Zealand women's teams, the batting was comparatively easy.
The highest successful chase at this venue was 325, back in 2002. If the team batting first gets a score in excess of 280, it won't be an easy task, especially since the boundaries are deep, especially the pockets on mid-wicket on either side. It will be a good surface for batting but the bowlers will get some help early on.
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