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The live cricket action moves to the shortest format of the game as Australia (AUS) will be crossing swords against India (IND) in the first T20I of the five-match
series on Wednesday, October 29 at the beautiful venue of Manuka Oval in Canberra . The two top most sides in world cricket are engaging in a 20-over competition after more than 16 months — the last being during the 2024 World Cup, won by India.
The hosts Australia have been in terrific form of late across formats. And when it comes to 20-over games, they have lost just one out of the most recent five outings. Their ace pacer Josh Hazlewood has shown consistency with the ball, making him a lethal challenge for the opposition. Apart from skipper Marsh, opening batter Travis Head, Matt Short and Josh Inglis also add power to the batting line-up of the Aussies.
The Indian team, on the other hand, will enter the contest after winning the Asia Cup in their last outing in the format, where they beat the arch-rivals Pakistan. There isn't a lot of difference in the squad that played the T20Is, with Nitish Kumar Reddy being the only addition to the squad from the continental tournament. While both the teams are in excellent form, the upcoming contest promises to be a mouthwatering one.
Match Details
| Match | AUS vs IND, 1st T20I, India tour of Australia, 2025 |
| Date and Time (IST) | Wednesday, October 29; 1:45 PM |
| Venue | Manuka Oval, Canberra |
| Broadcast and live-streaming | JioStar Network Channels and JioHotstar (App & Website) |
Manuka Oval, Canberra — Pitch Report
Manuka Oval has of late become one of the preferred T20I venues in the country. The venue in the Australian capital has hosted five 20-over games since its first in 2019, and 40 per cent of the match results have gone in favour of the teams chasing. Any score over 180 can be considered a winning total at this venue. However, the pitch offers as much assistance to the chasing side, which puts the bowlers' skills to test.
Head-to-Head Record in T20Is
| Matches Played | 32 |
| AUS Won | 11 |
| IND Won | 20 |
| Tied / No Result | 1 |
| First-ever fixture | September 22, 2007 |
| Most-recent fixture | June 24, 2024 |
Predicted Playing 11s
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Matt Short, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Josh Philippe, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Xavier Bartlett
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
Probable Best Performers of the Match
Probable Best Batter — Abhishek Sharma
The young opening batter from Punjab — Abhishek Sharma, is among the latest batting sensations in international cricket right now. He was the Player of the Match in the Men in Blue's Asia Cup triumph, and has already scored a couple of centuries in just 23 innings so far. Currently, the No. 1 T20I batter in the ICC Rankings, Abhishek Sharma is expected to garner a lot of attention from the fans for the upcoming match.
Probable Best Bowler — Josh Hazlewood
If Abhishek is the best that India have, Josh Hazlewood could put question marks around that with his sheer skills and the ability to bowl wicket-to-wicket. The right-arm pacer is also the most experienced seamer in the Australian squad, and is still going strong, being extremely frugal when it comes to his economy rate of just 7.54 after 58 matches. Hazlewood is going to be the bowler to watch out for.
Today's Match Prediction — Chasing team to win the match
Disclaimer: The prediction is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While making your prediction, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.
