The Men in Blue are under a spot of bother with their death-over bowling as the Aussies look to seal the series. India desperately need Jasprit Bumrah back in action.
The Nagpur saga
For a change, 9 out of 12 T20Is in Nagpur have been won by the team batting first. Bowlers can expect a better outing as compared to Mohali. The average first-innings score in Nagpur is 152. The last time India played here, Deepak Chahar registered a six-wicket haul against Bangladesh.
Despite setting their highest-ever score against Australia, Team India lost the last game with four balls to spare. The wicket was conducive for hitting; however, there was no resistance shown by the Indian death-over bowlers. While Jasprit Bumrah has conceded 28 sixes in his entire T20I career, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel have conceded 42 sixes in 2022 alone. The two Indian bowlers have a deceptive bowling action but have failed to defend totals lately. On the brighter side, KL Rahul looked back in form and was ready to play the anchor’s role in case of Virat Kohli’s early dismissal.
Cameron Green’s knock set the pace for Australia to chase down the target, and the visitors may stick to the same formula on a slow and sluggish Nagpur wicket. Josh Inglis, the conventional opener, can take the No. 3 spot and allow Steven Smith to bat at No. 4. Nathan Ellis also had an excellent outing, replacing an injured Kane Richardson at the last moment.
Australia will likely be unchanged for this game, unless the team management decides to rest any of Hazlewood, Cummins or Abbott. Hazlewood is two short of reaching the 50-wicket milestone in T20Is.
Match details
Match: India vs Australia
Venue: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium
Date: 22 September 2022
Time: 07:00 PM IST
Where to watch: Star Sports Network | Disney+ Hotstar
Pitch report & Toss
The wicket is expected to get slower as the match progresses. Teams will need to target power players to reach their desired targets. Spinners will impact during the middle overs. 160 is the on-par score. The side winning the toss will opt to bat first.
Probable playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Head-to-head
Total played: 24
Australia won: 10
India won: 13
No result: 1
Home wins for India: 4
Away wins for Australia: 8
Clean hitters
India: Cameron Green, Aaron Finch, Tim David
Australia: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya
Death-over bowlers
India: Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood
Australia: Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Fantasy team
Mathew Wade, Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
Captain & Vice-captain picks
Captain: Cameron Green, Virat Kohli
Vice-captain: Axar Patel, Glenn Maxwell
Prediction
Australia have the momentum on their side and a well-balanced squad. Glenn Maxwell is likely to play a vital role in Nagpur. Once again, the team dominating the Powerplay overs will have the upper hand. I back the side batting first to win the match.
