Australia vs India, first T20I: Preview

By Vineet Aiyer
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Updated: November 20, 2018
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After whitewashing West Indies 3-0 in the recently-concluded T20I series in India, the Men in Blue have already traveled to Australia where they will begin their long tour with a three-match T20I series against the hosts starting at The Gabba in Brisbane on November 21.

They will look to start the series on a high as it will give them a lot of confidence in the remaining T20I matches and the subsequent four-match Test series.

Head to Head

Aussies no match for India in T20Is

In the 16 T20I matches they have played against each other so far, India have got the better of their opposition as many as ten times while Australia have managed to win just five matches with their latest match between them in 2017 was washed out in Hyderabad.

In Australia, the teams have played each other six times and again, India have the upper hand as they have a 4-2 record Down Under. Incidentally, India beat Australia 3-0 the last time they took on Australia in Australia and created history by becoming the first team to whitewash the Aussies in their own backyard in the format.

India have won all T20I series since they drew 1-1 against Australia in October 2017.

Rankings

Interesting battle on the cards

In spite of winning all their T20I series since their 1-0 loss to West Indies in the one-match T20I series in Jamaica in 2017, India still find themselves second in the ICC T20I team rankings below the table toppers Pakistan with 127 points.

Australia, on the other hand, are the third best T20I team in the world as they are behind the Asian teams in the third position along with England with 118 points.

So, the battle between the second and third-placed teams in the ICC rankings will be a treat to watch for the fans.

Team News

India announce their 12-man squad

Skipper Virat Kohli returns to the side after he was rested for the T20I series against West Indies and will take over the captaincy reigns from Rohit Sharma. Ahead of the game, India have announced their 12-man squad and Yuzvendra Chahal is likely to be left out for the first T20I.

India’s predicted playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Khaleel Ahmed.

Australia’s predicted playing XI: Aaron Finch (c), D Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey, Ben McDermott, Marcus Stoinis, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrandorff and Adam Zampa.