Find out all you need to know about the clash between the sides in Rajkot....
India and Australia clash in the second of three stand-alone one-day internationals. In the first of two successive years punctuated by a T20 World Cup, which of these international behemoths will get the better of the meeting?
FIRST ODI: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (Tuesday, January 14); India 255, Australia 258-0 - Australia won by 10 wickets
SECOND ODI: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot (Friday, January 9, 1:30pm local time, 8am GMT)
THIRD ODI: M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore (Sunday, January 19, 1:30pm local time, 8am GMT)
Since the World Cup it had been plain-sailing for India in the 50-over format, with back-to-back series wins against West Indies.
But in Mumbai they were chewed up and spat out by Australia, with a 10-wicket defeat exposing an unbalanced batting line-up, a bowling line-up lacking diversity on a slow pitch and a touring side some of which are in the form of their lives.
Where captain Virat Kohli will bat in Rajkot might be a reflection of the nature of the fall-out from the defeat, after he came in at four behind Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul - who were pigeonholed at the top of the order.
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Expectation and scrutiny will continue to ratchet up after the failure at the Wankhede Stadium, and it is unlikely to get any easier against an Aussie side smelling blood.
That the two nations are contesting an ODI series against each other in the first of two consecutive years which is illuminated by a T20 World Cup is somewhat curious.
Indeed, the Baggy Green are not even sticking around for a 20-over series. Instead, they will return home for the climax to the Big Bash League before they go to South Africa in February and March.
Amid suggestions the two nations, along with England, want to develop a four-team biannual super series, it is hard to be anything other than sceptical regarding the motivation for such a series - which lends little context for the remainder of the calendar.
Dafabet have India as favourites the opening ODI at 5/6. Australia are available at 19/20.
Rishabh Pant is unavailable after suffering a concussion during the India innings in Mumbai, forcing him out of the second half of the opening ODI.
Rahul took the gloves in his place and it remains to be seen whether he will retain them, and his own place in the team having been selected in Mumbai, which forced Kohli down the batting order.
Jasprit Bumrah has returned for this series for India after a stress fracture to his lower back and played in each of this month's three T20s against Sri Lanka.
Sharma was rested for that series but returns for the ODIs alongside Mohammed Shami. There is no Hardik Pandya or Deepak Chahar, who are recovering from respective back problems, while Prithi Shaw is with the India A team.
India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), K. L. Rahul, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav
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The Baggy Green are arguably the form team in world cricket right now.
Since they retained the Ashes, Australia have lived off a diet of T20 and Test cricket, and have barely given an inch.
They have now won 11 matches in a row after their 10-wicket success in Mumbai, and each by an emphatic margin.
Coupled with that run has been the magnificent form of David Warner, who has been mesmeric since returning from England and went to his 18th century in the format in the first ODI.
The imperiousness of Aaron Finch and Warner's opening stand meant that Marnus Labuschagne was denied the chance to impress on his ODI debut, having earned a call-up following his impressive Test form in 2019.
He struck a century in four of Australia's five Tests this summer but it remains to be seen whether he can translate that into the 50-over game.
The series also gives Pat Cummins an opportunity to serve notice of his mastery, having become the most expensive player in Indian Premier League history during the recent auction for the 2020 competition.
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Sunny spells followed by warm conditions are expected for the second ODI in Rajkot, with a full and uninterrupted game again likely.
The Star Sports network will show the entire series in India, as well as subscription outlet Hotstar.
In Australia, Fox Sports and streaming service Kayo Sports will carry all three matches.
For viewers in the UK, Star Gold (Sky 717, Virgin 801) will show each ODI.
This preview is brought to you in association with Dafabet India. For more on Dafabet and to place a bet, click here.
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