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India joins this tour. The win in the last ODI and first T20I means there is a little spring in their stride as they return to Sydney for the final two White Ball games before attention is focused on the Test series, although during those games the SCG taking place Test preparations for others against Australia A across town in Drummoyne Oval are in full swing.
It was an enormous fight against India in the opening game. From a position where they struggled before the late attack by Ravindra Jadeja, who appeared to have since been banned from the series due to the concussion that led Yuzvendra Chahal to play his pivotal role with the ball, to 140 to reach.
In the chase, Australia was well placed at 72 to 1, but Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell fell in consecutive overs and, not for the first time, a lack of hitting power in the sequence was revealed despite India’s bowlers taking advantage of a field that was starting to hold more as the game went on.
Given the density of this tour, there will be some more players juggling. Australia have cleared Cameron Green to the Australian senior squad but Mitchell Swepson will stay with the T20I group after his quick deployment following Ashton Agar’s injury. With up to six players missing in Australia who would likely be the number one player in their T20 XI – captain Aaron Finch waited for the results of the scans on Saturday after sustaining a hip or buttock injury in Canberra – it seems this is a good chance for India to claim the series.
ALSO WATCH: Natarajan’s Three-for-T20I Debut (Indian Subcontinent Only)
Form guide
The last five completed games
Australia LWLLW
India WWT (super won) T (super won) W.
In the spotlight
After two below average ODIs Mitchell Starc looked a lot more like his usual self at the opening of two overs in the first T20I and found a late swing including the sharp outswinger that Shikhar Dhawan was nowhere near. His last two overs went for 23, but it was his 144 km / h short ball that Jadeja put on his helmet to suffer a concussion. However, he may still not be 100% fit so he may not play both of the remaining T20Is.
ALSO WATCH: Starc uproots Dhawan’s stump (Indian subcontinent only)
Given how he came to the side and dominated, it was all about Chahal, but Washington SundarThe performance with the ball was also crucial to India’s victory. He threw his four overs for 16, including 13 points, and drove the ball to the surface while the Australian batsmen struggled to bond with straight-bat or cross-bat strokes.
Team news
Finch remains dubious and if he fails it would require a change of captaincy with Matthew Wade who will likely fill in. It would also require an eyelash reinforcement and would likely see Wade open with D’Arcy Short, which could create a vacancy for Alex Carey returns in medium order. Nathan Lyon has been drafted into the squad and could battle for Swepson’s place to counterbalance Adam Zampa’s legspin. Josh Hazlewood has played all White Ball matches so far so he may have to take a break.
Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch / D’Arcy Short, 2 Matthew Wade, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Moises Henriques, 6 Alex Carey (week), 7 Sean Abbott, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Mitchell Swepson / Nathan Lyon, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Jadeja needs to be replaced from the start this time around, and Chahal’s performance makes him the natural option, although it does significantly weaken the eyelash. Manish Pandey didn’t have his best day in 5th place with 2 of 8 balls in Canberra. India might decide to switch Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
India (probably) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Manish Pandey / Shreyas Iyer, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 T Natarajan, 10 Jasprit Bumrah / Mohammed Shami, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Parking space and conditions
The surfaces were flat, very flat for the two ODIs, although some of the Indian bowlers have found their rhythm since those games. The forecast is for a dry, mild evening.
ALSO WATCH: Henriques takes three important gates (only on the Indian subcontinent)
Statistics and trivia
In the opening game of the series, Moises Henriques threw his full four-over quota in a T20 for the first time since February 2017
India are undefeated in their last ten T20Is, a run that has included one result without a result and two draws they then won in super overs against New Zealand
Two years ago India chased at the SCG 165 to level the streak.
Quotes
“I think two legspinners are fine. You’ve seen the impact Legspin has had on the T20 format in virtually all competitions. In BBL, IPL and international cricket, there are a lot of legspinners who have a lot of influence. That ability, that turning the ball in both directions makes the batsman doubt. In my opinion, leg spinners have this advantage in the T20 format here. “
Mitchell Swepson
“The pitch (in the first T20I) was exciting so I decided I wasn’t going to fly it for them and I broke my legs like the Australian weirdos in the ODIs.”
Yuzvendra Chahal
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