About this episode
India will start their World Cup campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8. Australia are 5-time world champions and are one of the favourites in the tournament but they will be up against hosts India, who have ticked every box so far. R Ashwin was a late addition to the Indian squad after an injury to Axar Patel. India now have a formidable spin attack with Ashwin set to go into battle alongside Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Ashwin might have been a late addition but the veteran off-spinner has had the wood over Australia in the recent past. Ashwin will be licking his lips to have a go against the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne in his home ground, the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. However, it remains to be seen if Shubman Gill, who is down with dengue, will be able to get fit and be ready for the big-ticket match. Rahul Dravid, speaking to the media on Friday, assured that Gill is feeling better and the medical team is monitoring him. Meanwhile, England, the defending champions, had a forgettable start to their campaign. After their batters flopped against New Zealand, their bowlers failed to come to the party as the Black Caps won by 9 wickets. Jos Buttler's side looked jaded as they lacked the intent with the bat and were obliterated by Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra with the bat. It was a proper hammering from which England need to recover if they are to keep their hopes of retaining the title. These are still early days in the 2023 World Cup but the teams that take the early initiative and show their domination in these opening encounters would have made their jobs easier for a path to the semi-finals. On the other hand, Pakistan's top-order crumbled against the Netherlands in their opener in Hyderabad. However, they recovered to post a total in excess of 280 with handy contributions from Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel. There's plenty of action to come over the weekend, which includes the India vs Australia blockbuster. Rajarshi Gupta was joined by Akshay Ramesh as they discussed the start to the World Cup in India. Tune in.