India will take on the World T20I Champions in a three-match T20I series starting on Tuesday, ahead of the T20I World Cup which is scheduled to begin next month.
The battle of Mohali
The Aussies are missing a few key players. David Warner has taken some time off for family reason, whereas Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc and Marcus Stoinis are out due to injuries. This will bring opportunities for players like Tim David, Josh Inglis and Kane Richardson to make their mark ahead of the T20I World Cup.
Aaron Finch will continue to lead the Australia side. He has played six matches in India and has scored 190 runs with an Average of 31.66 and a healthy Strike Rate of 134.65. Batting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, in his ten-year international career so far, has played six T20Is in India scoring 244 runs, including a 113* knock in the last match he played for Australia in India. The visitors are travelling without a frontline off-spinner in the squad, suggesting that Maxwell will bowl in every game.
India, on the other hand, need to regroup after a disappointing Asia Cup 2022. The hosts will miss the services of Mohammed Shami, who is out due to COVID. Shami has been replaced by Umesh Yadav, who is making his comeback to the national side. He played his last T20I in 2019 against Australia in Visakhapatnam.
KL Rahul will continue to open the batting for India, whereas the team management will pick matches where Virat Kohli will be asked to open the innings. Kohli has played 19 T20Is against Australia and has scored 718 runs at an Average of 59.83. He has played two T20Is in Mohali and is yet to get out. He scored knocks of 82* and 72* against Australia and South Africa, respectively. Considering his last knock against Afghanistan, we can expect “King Kohli” to open the innings again on Tuesday.
The series against Australia and South Africa shall prove to be a good build-up for the mega-event awaiting India next month.
Match details
Match: India vs Australia
Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
Date: 20 September 2022
Time: 07:30 PM IST
Where to watch: Star Sports Network | Disney+ Hotstar
Pitch report & Toss
The average score in Mohali is 172. The chasing side has won three out of five games at this venue. Fast bowlers will have the edge over spinners. The side winning the toss will opt to bowl first. Looking at the batting depth of the two sides, 190 looks to be the on-par score.
Probable playing XIs
Australia: Josh Inglis (wk), Aaron Finch (c), Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Cameroon Green, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel
Head-to-head
Total played: 23
Australia won: 9
India won: 13
No result: 1
Home wins for India: 4
Away wins for Australia: 7
Clean hitters
Australia: Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Jos Inglis
India: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya
Death-over bowlers
Australia: Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood
India: Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Fantasy team
Jos Inglis, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Aaron Finch, KL Rahul, Glenn Maxwell, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Jasprit Bumrah
Captain & Vice-captain picks
Captain: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell
Vice Captain: Hardik Panya, Aaron Finch
Prediction
India have the upper hand coming into this game, given Australia are missing key players from their regular playing XI. Both sides have depth in their batting line-up, however. The team dominating the Powerplay overs will be favourites to win. I back India to win the match and move on from their Asia Cup horror.
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