[Picture] “Go India” – Shikhar Dhawan cheers for Men in Blue for IND vs AUS 2023 World Cup from home

Shikhar Dhawan, who missed out on India's squad for the 2023 World Cup, is cheering the Men in Blue for their opening game against Australia. The highly-anticipated game is taking place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

In a picture shared on social media on Sunday (October 8), the 37-year-old cricketer can be seen glued to the TV screen while sitting on the sofa. He captioned the Instagram post:

“Go India, Go”

Dhawan, who is yet to retire from international cricket, played his last ODI game against Bangladesh in December 2022. He was dropped from the India squad following his repeated failures in the ODI series against South Africa (4, 13, and 8), New Zealand (72, 3 and 28), and Bangladesh *7, 8 and 3).

The Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain was last seen in action during the Indian Premier League (IPL), scoring 373 runs in 11 games, including three half-centuries.

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Australia set 200-run target for India in 2023 World Cup match

Fighting knocks from Steve Smith and David Warner helped Australia post 199 before they were bundled out for 199 in 49.3 overs against India in the World Cup game on Sunday.

Smith scored 46 runs off 71 balls, including five boundaries, while Warner hit 41 off 52 deliveries, comprising six fours. Mitchell Starc and Marnus Labuschagne also chipped in with scores of 28 (35) and 27 (41), respectively.

Ravindra Jadeja starred with the ball for India, finishing with figures of 3/28, while Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah picked up two wickets apiece. Mohammad Siraj, Hardik Pandya, and Ravichandran Ashwin settled for one wicket apiece.

In response, Australia made a perfect start with the ball. Mitchell Starc provided the first breakthrough for the Aussies, dismissing Ishan Kishan for a golden duck. The left-handed batter had replaced Shubman Gill, who missed the game due to illness.

Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood also sent back India captain Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer for ducks.

With the dismissals, Australia reduced India to 2/3 in just two overs. At the time of writing, the hosts were 22/3 after 8.1 overs, with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul at the crease.

Follow IND vs AUS 2023 World Cup live score updates here.