Australia’s win in the series opener opening victory over India was, to a degree, unexpected. However, they struggled to go over the line which suggested that Aaron Finch’s team remains very much a work in progress, both mentally and technically. Having put together a diligent display with the ball and in the field, the Australians appeared to be on course for a comfortable victory with Glenn Maxwell in the vanguard.
But the collapse that followed Maxwell’s dismissal suggested that the Aussies lack either recent form in the case of Ashton Turner, or confidence in chasing as is the case with Marcus Stoinis, Maxwell and Peter Handscomb. Apart from that the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah over Australia was well and truly maintained, leaving it possible to wonder how the game might have panned out if he had been bowling the final over rather than Umesh Yadav.
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On the other hand, the men in blue also have some questions, particularly around Dhoni’s place in the batting order alongside the younger wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who has been good enough as a pure batsman to earn a place in the squad. Team India has never lost a T20I series to Australia in more than a decade and now will expect better in Bengaluru.
Australia also has some wicket-keeping issues as Peter Handscomb hasn’t done a convincing job as a replacement of Alex Carey, but, it also placed the Victorian right-hander in a key post as a middle-order batsman. Both Handscomb and the Australian management will be hoping for more sure-footed innings in the second game.
The expensive Umesh Yadav and the young Pant might both be somewhat nervous about their places after the opening loss. Team India is also likely to bring back the rested Shikhar Dhawan. If they stick to their policy of giving a run to the fringe players, then Dhawan coming back could mean Rohit Sharma earning a rest.
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On the other hand, the Australian team for Vizag included the shuffling of Marcus Stoinis up the order and Handscomb taking the gloves in place of Carey. Kane Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Usman Khawaja, and Shaun Marsh are among the options in reserve.
Predicted XIs:
India – KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Umesh Yadav/Siddarth Kaul, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia – Marcus Stoinis, D’Arcy Short, Aaron Finch (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb (wk), Ashton Turner, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Adam Zampa
Some important stats ahead of the Bangalore T20I:
- Australia and India have never played a T20I in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, although the tourists did complete a three-wicket victory over Bangladesh at the venue during the World T20 in 2016.
- India has not lost a bilateral T20I series against Australia since being defeated in a one-off match at the MCG in January 2008.
