India's senior batting duo, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are currently in Australia preparing for their international comeback in the upcoming three-match ODI series, which will start from October 19 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The duo will be seen in action after a long seven months' gap. They last represented India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final where Men in Blue defeated New Zealand in the title decider to win the tournament.
Optus Stadium weather update
Fans are excited for Rohit and Virat's comeback, but the weather can ruin their return as rain is predicted to play spoilsport during the first ODI, with 63% chances of rain predicted on Sunday in Perth.
As per accuweather.com, there are showers predicted ahead of the start of the match at 11:30 am local time. The rain chances further go above 35% during the game, which is expected to cause regular interruptions during the clash. As a result, the match will have multiple interruptions, which will only add to the frustration of both fans and players.
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Will rain impact the toss decision?
The rain prediction will surely affect the toss decision as captains will look to bowl first and make the most of the overcast conditions, which will be conducive to seamers.
Optus Stadium pitch report
The Optus Stadium has only hosted three one-day matches so far, and in two of those, the team batting second came victorious. The pitch is known to be great for fast bowlers, offering plenty of pace and bounce. On average, teams score around 183 runs when batting first, and the biggest run chase so far has been just 153. That means batters will need to get used to the speed and bounce early on and avoid going for big shots too soon.
Ro-Ko sweats out in nets
Rohit and Virat were seen training hard in nets for their international comeback ahead of the series as they wasted no time getting into their groove during net sessions at Optus Stadium. Both batters played in nets to adjust to the conditions, appearing rusty only for the first few minutes of their nets session on Thursday. On Day 1, Kohli batted for 30 minutes while Rohit faced the bowlers for about 40 minutes, according to Star Sports' Rohan Deshmukh. India all-rounder Axar Patel, who spoke to the press on Friday, gave Rohit and Kohli a big thumbs up, saying they looked sharp in training.