Team India will begin their three-match series against Australia with the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday (March 17). India all-rounder and stand-in captain for the first ODI here against Australia, Hardik Pandya said on Thursday (March 16) that bilateral series are as competitive as ICC tournaments and brooding over failures in past global competitions is an exercise in futility.


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India have usually done well in bilateral series – both home and away – but have been failing regularly in ICC tournaments for close to a decade now, with the most recent disappointment being the semi-final defeat to England in the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.


Pandya said the team had not tried anything new to change the trend and the focus has been on learning from bilateral fixtures. “I don’t think we have tried anything new. We will be trying to be a little brave which I think in the last couple of series we have done quite well,” the all-rounder told the media here at the Wankhede Stadium.


“All these bilaterals are as challenging, they can get as close to the wire as they can. That is the only way we are going to learn and start playing under pressure of knockouts (in ICC tournaments). (But) we don’t need to look at that right now, the past is past and we are hoping for the best things to come,” Pandya added.


Pandya, who is also the vice-captain of the Indian side for the three-match series against Australia, said the players are comfortable with workload-related calls made by the management.


India vs Australia 1st ODI Details


Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai


Date & Time: March 17, 130pm IST onwards


Live Streaming and TV details: Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar website and app.


IND vs AUS 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction


Wicketkeeper: KL Rahul


Batters: Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Travis Head


All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Cameron Green


Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa


Captain: Shubman Gill


Vice-captain: Ravindra Jadeja


IND vs AUS 1st ODI Predicted 11


India: Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan, Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur/Washington Sundar


Australia: Steve Smith (C), Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis