Australia vs India, 1st T20I, Match Prediction: Who will win the Match?

The T20I series will serve as the starter for the rest of the tour.

Published - 20 Nov 2018, 16:09 IST | Updated - 20 Nov 2018, 16:09 IST

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Virat Kohli of India and Aaron Finch of Australia

The much-awaited contest between Australia and India will get underway at the iconic Gabba in Brisbane on Wednesday. The T20I series is set to serve as a starter for the enthusiastic cricket fans of both the countries before they lock horns in the Test and ODI series. The tourists are the overwhelming favourites to win the contest in the shortest format which would, in a way, work in favour of the under-pressure Australia.

The Men in Yellow have started their home season on a worst possible note losing the ODIs and a one-off T20I to South Africa. Their challenge gets even tougher as India are playing their best cricket in the limited-overs format at the moment. Aaron Finch, the skipper, though is hoping for a quick turnaround in the fortunes and a jam-packed stadium could be the much-needed inspiration to put their best foot forward. The first match of the series will set the tone for the whole tour for both the sides.

Virat Kohli returns to the T20I side for India after resting for the Windies series and that only strengthens their batting overwhelmingly. Moreover, last time India played in the country, they whitewashed the hosts and will be high on confidence to do it again. Some of the T20I specialists are also part of the team this time and even they will have a point to prove which makes this team look more dangerous.

Pitch and Conditions

It will be an evening start to the game and there is 7 percent chance of rain and it will be cloudy for the entire duration. Even if it rains, it should not waste much of the time thanks to excellent drainage facilities in place. As far as the pitch is concerned, the average score batting first at the venue is 185 in three T20 Internationals. Chasing has been tough at this venue which will lead the team winning the toss to bat first.

Team Combinations

Australia

Australia have named the same squad for this series which faced South Africa. Despite losing, there are likely to make only a solitary change. Jason Behrendorff, who picked five wickets on his T20I debut against India, might make way for Adam Zampa after having a ordinary day in the previous game. The rest of the line-up should be same and the batsmen, especially the top three, will be hoping to churn out more runs unlike their last four outings.

Probable XI: Aaron Finch (c), Chris Lynn, D’Arcy Short, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben Mcdermott, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andrew Tye, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa/Jason Behrendorff.

India

Team India has already announced their 12-man squad for the series opener as Manish Pandey missed the cut with Kohli returning. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul will form the most threatening top three in the format while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah will look after the pace bowling department with Khaleel Ahmed.

It will be interesting to see if the visitors will go in with three spinners. If not then Yuzvendra Chahal will have to sit out as Krunal Pandya is an all-rounder and has performed well in the recent series.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed.