India vs Australia. Chennai. October 8.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium pitch is known for assisting spin. But there are two factors. One, the pitch will be prepared by ICC’s groundsmen, not the local staff or those on the BCCI payrolls. Two, it will not be as dry as it is in February-March. So, the upper part of the surface may not crumble. Still, it will be hot and given that spinners have a record of doing well here, India should feel confident if they pick the right XI, with adequate spin options.
India can rest assured of support from their 12th man, which is the crowd. People of Chennai are diehard fans of the home teams. At times, that becomes a factor, may not be decisive, but an important one. There is a bit of worry on the weather front as well. Chennai gets the retreating monsoon in October-November, which often spoils matches over there. The good news is, it usually doesn’t start pouring so early in October. Even if it does, Chennai’s drainage system is good enough to make play possible in a short span of time.
Trivia: The only India-Australia World Cup match in Chennai was held in 1987. The visitors, who eventually went on to lift the trophy, edged India by 1 run. This game saw the re-emergence of Novjot Sidhu in an attacking avatar.
| Matches | India Wins | Australia Wins | |
| Overall | 146 | 54 | 82 |
| In Chennai | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| In World Cups | 12 | 4 | 8 |