Australia vs India: 1st T20I, Preview- Wretched Aussies hope for a turnaround

As far as the ICC T20I team rankings are concerned, India and Australia are neck and neck, being at the second and third position respectively. However, their recent form has been contrasting, to say the least. India didn’t have Virat Kohli in their ranks against Windies and in his absence, Rohit Sharma led the Men in Blue to a clean sweep in the three-match series against the Caribbean team.

The Aussies, on the other hand, lost the one-off T20I against South Africa at Carrara Oval in Queensland after rain threatened to play spoilsport. Prior to that, they lost the ODI series and the string of defeats isn’t expected to keep them in a positive mindset. Aaron Finch and his troops are now scheduled to lock horns with India in three T20Is, the first of which will be played tomorrow at The Gabba in Brisbane.

India have fond memories of playing T20Is in Australia for the reason that they have won four matches on the trot with three of them coming in a whitewash back in 2016 under the leadership of MS Dhoni. The hosts are depleted owing to the absence of a couple of their stalwarts, but they have got enough firepower to surprise their opponents and Kohli’s men would be well aware of the same.

Team Combination

Australia

The Aussies would want fast starts from their openers- Aaron Finch and Chris Lynn with D’Arcy Short most likely to bat at number three. More than batting, Ben McDermott would want to not give his wicket away through a run-out. Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis are the genuine all-rounders. The fast bowling unit has Behrendroff, Tye and Stanlake with Adam Zampa as the lone spinner.

Probable XI

Aaron Finch (C), Chris Lynn, D’Arcy Short, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendroff, Andrew Tye, Billy Stanlake

India

Today morning, India released a 12-man squad for tomorrow’s match. Not much change has been made from the series against Windies. Kohli would be back as the captain after a break. Rishabh Pant will don the wicketkeeper’s gloves. A toss up is expected to take place between Chahal and Krunal as Kuldeep is almost certain to play and India are highly unlikely to field three spinners.

Probable XI

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal/Krunal Pandya

Focus will be on

Aaron Finch- Australia

The Victorian has had a horrendous time of late in the T20I format. In four T20Is against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan, the right-hander managed scores of (1,0,3 and 1). He also got out for 7 against the Proteas. Being the world’s second-ranked T20I batsman, Finch has, somehow, got to arrest his arrest and inspire his team with some substantial knocks under his belt.

Virat Kohli- India

The 30-year-old hasn’t played T20I cricket for a while, but he will be one player Australia would love to dismiss early as they would be wary of the damage Kohli can inflict. The experienced campaigner has an average of 84 in T20Is in Australia, having scored 252 runs from 5 matches. He would also want to bring forth all his experienced and get some useful runs with the bat.

Head to Head

Matches – 15 | Australia won – 5 | India won – 10

In Australia

Matches – 6 | Australia won – 2 | India won – 4

Stat Attack

4 – India won each of their last four T20Is in Australia. They played six T20Is in Australia losing the first two by big margins.

65– Runs Rohit Sharma needs to become the leading run-getter in the T20I format surpassing Guptill’s tally of 2271.

Broadcast Details

TV – Sony Six and Sony Six HD

Live Streaming – Sony LIV

Match Timings – 13:20 IST; 17:50 local

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