A mouth-watering clash awaits fans at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday when the Men in Blue take on the World Cup juggernauts. India and Australia have locked horns 12 times across all editions of the tournament, with the latter having won eight games. Both teams would hope to start their campaigns on a positive note as they script another chapter in the annals of a long-standing rivalry.
In 1983, the two teams met for the first time at Trent Bridge, where Trevor Chappell showcased his talent and helped Australia hand India a drubbing. A few days later, Roger Binny and Madan Lal starred for India and the Indians defeated one of the favourites of the tournament by a considerable margin of 118 runs.
Chennai had previously played host to Australia in a nail-biting encounter in the 1987 World Cup, the first time an ODI was held at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium ever. Geoff Marsh piled up a ton to help Australia post a competitive total. In reply, K. Srikkanth and Navjot Sidhu gave the opposition a run for its money.
