India won the toss and opted to bat against Australia in the first ODI of a five-match series here on Sunday. Both sides have been forced to make a few changes to their eleven due to unexpected pullouts.

Biggest surprise though was India captain Virat Kohli’s decision to bench KL Rahul who was being backed to bat No. 4. Kohli confirmed Rahane will be opening the batting while Hardik Pandya will bat at No 7. This means Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni will form the middle order after Kohli at No.3.

“Looks like a good wicket to bat. The last time we played here, it slowed down a lot,” said Kohli after winning the toss. “Our spinners should get some turn. We are playing two wrist spinners and two pacers,” he said.

Rahane comes in place of Shikhar Dhawan who pulled out of the first three ODIs to be with his ill wife. Axar Patel was ruled out of on the eve of this match after he sprained ankle during training on Friday.

All-rounder Hilton Cartwright will make his ODI debut for Australia while wily customer James Faulkner makes a comeback along with medium pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile who is vastly experienced in subcontinent conditions.

“Looks like a good wicket, will need to bowl well,” said Australia captain Steve Smith after the toss. “The four guys missing out are Agar, Finch, Handscomb and Richardson. Cartwright will make his ODI debut. Faulkner is back and so is Coulter-Nile. India is a tough challenge and looking forward to a good game.”

Australia have had a good buildup to the series, training for more than a week. The pitch looks dry and should be good for batting. However thunderstorms are predicted in the afternoon.

Teams:

India: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey, kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Australia: Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright, Marcus Stoinis, Travis Head, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa.