After losing the ODI series 1-2, India will look to forge a strong comeback in the five T20Is against Australia. The first T20I is set to be held at the Manuka
Oval in Canberra on Wednesday, October 29.
Australia's last T20 assignment saw them beat New Zealand 2-0 in Mount Maunganui earlier this month. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav-led India should be high on confidence, winning the T20 Asia Cup last month convincingly.
Toss Update
Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl first. He has now won 18 tosses in T20Is and opted to field each time. The talismanic opener reckoned that the pitch should be good for batting and hoped to use the series as a dress rehearsal for next year's T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Suryakumar mentioned that he would have batted first had he won the toss. He feels that the track might get slower in the second innings.
No Arshdeep Singh in playing XI
Interestingly, Arshdeep Singh isn't playing the first T20I. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana are the only two specialist seamers picked in the playing XI. Suryakumar didn't mention the exact reason behind leaving out the leading wicket-taker for India in T20Is. On the other hand, Australia have not picked Tanveer Sangha, who recently replaced Adam Zampa in the squad. Matthew Kuhnemann is the only frontline spinner in the playing XI for the Men in Yellow.
AUS vs IND, 1st T20I - What did the captains say?
Mitchell Marsh, Australia Captain
We are going to bowl first. It’s a good surface. I think most times we come to Canberra, it’s always a great surface, beautiful ground, and it’s going to be a stellar crowd, so I’m looking forward to it. (On his side playing an aggressive brand of cricket) Yeah, as do India. I think both sides just lack a lot of power. As we know, India are the number one ranked side in the world for a reason, so I’m certainly up and about for the contest. (Build up to the World Cup) Yeah, it’s exciting. I think all teams around the world now are really pushing their deal towards the World Cup, so we’re excited to test ourselves against the number one ranked side in the world. (Team combination) Eleven players - a few batters, a few bowlers, and a few all-rounders. Keep it simple (smiles).
Suryakumar Yadav, India Captain
We were looking to bat first. I mean, it looks like a good wicket. And I heard from our analysts that there have not been a lot of games played here. Might get slower in the second innings. So, yeah, we wanted to bat first. (On the prep for the series) Yeah, I mean, we were here three, four days before this game. Though it was cold yesterday and today. But today, it looks good. Hopefully, we'll have a good game. (On India's good run in T20 cricket) Yeah, I mean, they know what's to be done when they go inside. They know their roles really well. Have good responsibility on their shoulders. And they just enjoy the game. (On picking the XI) Big headache, yeah. It's a good headache. It's not a bad headache. It's a good headache to have. But yeah, good to have so many options. The guys who are missing out are Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep and Nitish.
AUS vs IND, 1st T20I — Playing 11s
Australia
Mitchell Marsh (C), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (WK), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.
India
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
