ICC World Cup 2023: Game 36
Stadium: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India
4 November 2023
England and Australia are going head to head in the 36th game of the ICC World Cup 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India on 4th November. The defending champions are the first to surrender and are at the bottom of the table with only one win. Who will win this game?
Claim Your Welcome Bonus!England form
England, the reigning World Cup champions, have seen their semi-final hopes dashed after suffering five defeats in six matches, including four consecutive losses. Their sole victory in this tournament came against Bangladesh, who have also been eliminated from semi-final contention. Despite being out of the semi-final race, Captain Jos Buttler and his team still have their pride on the line. They are also vying for qualification in the Champions Trophy, where the top seven teams at the end of the round-robin stage of this World Cup will secure a spot.
Dawid Malan and former captain Joe Root have been the standout performers with the bat for England in this tournament, amassing 236 and 175 runs in six innings, respectively. However, they have often lacked support, and against Australia, the onus will be on all-rounders Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali to step up. While seamer Reece Topley showed promise with the ball before exiting the tournament due to injury, leg-spinner Adil Rashid has emerged as England's leading wicket-taker with eight scalps in six matches, while fast bowler Mark Wood and seamer Chris Woakes have claimed four wickets each.
England Predicted Lineup
Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (wk) (C), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Australia form
Australia's journey in the 2023 Cricket World Cup had a rocky start with consecutive losses to India and South Africa. However, they've rebounded impressively with four consecutive victories over Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Netherlands, and New Zealand. A win against England in their upcoming match would strongly position the Aussies for a spot in the semi-finals.
Australia's playing XI will face challenges due to the absence of all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh. Marsh has returned home for personal reasons, while Maxwell has been sidelined due to a concussion, a significant setback considering his recent record-breaking century - the fastest in Cricket World Cup history, achieved in just 40 balls.
The return of opener Travis Head from injury is a notable boost for the Australian side. In his comeback match against New Zealand, Head didn't miss a beat and delivered a century. With Marsh absent, more responsibility may fall on all-rounders Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis, particularly in the bowling department.
The leg-spinner Adam Zampa has been in prolific form in this tournament, amassing an impressive 16 wickets in six matches. He currently shares the title of the 2023 Cricket World Cup's leading wicket-taker and is the sole spinner among the top nine wicket-takers. Notably, he has twice the number of wickets taken by seamers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who have both secured eight wickets each.
Australia Predicted Lineup
David Warner, Travis Head, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (C), Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
Expert betting tips
In the 2023 World Cup's initial 32 matches, only nine times did the team winning the toss emerge victorious. This stat suggests that the captain on the losing side of the coin toss holds a 71 percent chance of winning the match.
Recent history in Ahmedabad further supports the likelihood of the toss-winning captain opting to field first. Six of the last nine ODIs played in Ahmedabad saw the team batting second emerge victorious. This trend includes the two 2023 World Cup matches already held in Ahmedabad. Consequently, it's highly likely that the captain winning the toss on Saturday will elect to chase.
Notably, this will be the third of five 2023 Cricket World Cup matches held at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which will also host the final. However, the stadium hasn't witnessed high-scoring contests recently, with the last five ODIs failing to yield a total over 300 runs. The preceding five first-innings scores at this venue in ODI cricket have been 191, 282, 265, 237, and 176. Bowlers have made a significant impact, resulting in teams getting dismissed in half of the last ten innings here.
Weather-wise, Ahmedabad is expected to stay rain-free in the lead-up to the match, and there's no forecast for wet weather on matchday. Consequently, we can anticipate a full and uninterrupted fixture. The match is scheduled to commence at 1:30 pm, which should minimize the influence of dew compared to earlier start times.
Despite Australia's potential weaknesses without Maxwell and Marsh, they appear poised to secure a victory in this match against an England team struggling with confidence and winless in their last four outings. It's also worth noting that Australia has won three ODIs in Ahmedabad, while England has managed this feat only once, with a loss at this venue as recently as October 2023. Thus, Australia enters as the favorites to clinch this game.