India defeats Australia by a margin of five wickets at Mohali to depose Pakistan as the top-ranked ODI team.
Following their five-wicket victory against Australia in the opening ODI of the three-match series on Friday in Mohali, India overtook Pakistan to take the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings. After winning the first ODI, India (116 rating points) overtook Pakistan (115) as the team with the highest rating. Australia is still in third place, but the difference between them and the top two has grown since they dropped two points to 111.
In the first ODI, India accomplished the feat with ease, defeating Australia by a margin of five wickets. The highlight of their bowling performance, after acting skipper KL Rahul decided to field first, was Mohammed Shami’s five-wicket haul. Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad responded by scoring fifty runs each and putting up a 142-run opening stand. Despite losing a few quick wickets, the hosts were able to win with to fifty-plus scores from Surykumar Yadav and Rahul.
The top spot in the ODI Team Rankings has been up for grabs recently, with India, Pakistan, and Australia all vying for it during the just-concluded Asia Cup and Australia’s ODI series against South Africa. However, India must defeat Australia 2-1 in the three-match ODI series in order to qualify as the top team for the ODI World Cup. The Asia Cup 2023’s final Super Fours encounter saw Pakistan lose to Sri Lanka, which was a significant setback for their chances of maintaining the top spot in the ODI rankings.
In the first two games, KL Rahul will serve as captain in place of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav.
In the first ODI on Friday, Australia was put in to bat and was eventually dismissed for 276 runs by India.Lower in the batting order, wicketkeeper Josh Inglis chipped in with 45, followed by David Warner’s 52, Steve Smith’s 41, and
Indian bowling was led by pacer Mohammed Shami, who finished with a 5/51. At a previous toss, India captain KL Rahul decided to field against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series on Friday.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami are also in the starting XI in place of Shreyas Iyer, who was only able to participate in two games during the Asia Cup due to a back spasm. Pat Cummins, the team’s captain, and Steve Smith, who were both dealing with wrist ailments, rejoined the Australian squad.
