Australia v India Twenty20 international series: Ultimate Guide

Australia is out to make a statement against Virat Kohli’s India this week in a Twenty20 series that pits the world’s second and third best teams against one another. Find out everything you need to know in our ultimate guide!

Australia is out to make a statement against Virat Kohli’s India this week in a Twenty20 series.

Beat in both formats by South Africa, Australia is out to make a statement against India this week in a Twenty20 series that pits the world’s second and third best teams against one another.

It’s a series that brings together some of the game’s most exciting T20 international (T20I) players with four of the format’s top 10 batsmen and three of its top 10 bowlers playing.

And none of those players are Virat Kohli. The International Cricket Council’s rankings are far from foolproof but that does say something about the calibre of cricket the next week and half promises.

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Beat in both formats by South Africa, Australia is out to make a statement against India this week.

KL Rahul (4th) and Rohit Sharma (7th) both sit above Kohli in the batting rankings, as do Aaron Finch (2nd) and Glenn Maxwell (6th). Wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (4th) is the best ranked bowler in this series, while Billy Stanlake (9th) and Andrew Tye (10th) are both in the top 10.

India arrives down under sitting second on the ICC’s Twenty20 rankings, one spot behind Pakistan and one ahead of Australia.

If the Australians manage to whitewash India they will jump up to second place. In truth, a series win of any margin will be a huge step in the right direction for Justin Langer’s team. Yet to taste a series victory (minimum two matches) under Langer, Australia is taking on a side that has won its past seven T20I campaigns. If not for Pakistan’s current run of 10 straight series wins, India’s form right now would be a new benchmark for consistency.

Those seven consecutive series wins have come since last November, with the most recent victory being a 3-0 clean sweep of the West Indies.

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Rohit Sharma has been in scintillating T20 form for India.

It’s a run of results that has actually had very little to do with Kohli, who averages 48.90 in the T20Is. Rotated in and out of the team to fit in rest where he can, Kohli has scored 250 runs at 31.25 across the 10 matches he has played in this period. The man leading the way in his absence is his deputy, Rohit Sharma, who has piled on 815 runs at 40.75 with a strike rate of 156.13. The opener has belted three centuries in that time. To put that feat in context, New Zealand’s Colin Munro is the only other player to have scored three T20I tons in the entirety of his career.

Sharma has been ably assisted by opening partner Shikhar Dhawan (659 at 36.61, strike rate of 141.41 in this period), while spin of 6.92) have run riot with the ball.

Australia will be hopeful captain Finch can rediscover his groove – not only to counter the damage India’s all-star openers could do, but also to nullify the threat of its spinners. The right-hander is arguably Australia’s finest player against the turning ball in limited overs cricket but has had a tough time of it since making his Test debut.

Finch scored 12 runs across his past five T20Is and was below his best in the ODI series against South Africa.

Finch scored 12 runs across his past five T20Is and was below his best in the ODI series against South Africa (57 runs at 19.00). It’s a blip he says is in part down to the work he has done on his technique to adjust to playing Test cricket.

If he does find his groove he’s a good enough batsman to make Australia favourites. It’s worth noting that despite the current slump, he still sits second for T20 runs scored this year (1295) and is averaging more than 50 (51.80) with a strike rate of 175.23.

Ahead of Wednesday’s first Twenty20 at the Gabba, find out everything you need to know in our ultimate guide!

HOW TO WATCH IT!

Watch the match live and in 4K on Fox Cricket with no ad-breaks during play.

FIXTURES (times AEDT)

First Twenty20: Gabba, Wednesday November 21, starting at 6:50pm

Second Twenty20: MCG, Friday November 23, starting at 6:50pm

Third Twenty20: SCG, Sunday November 25, starting at 6:50pm

SQUADS

A storm at the Gold Coast saw Australia’s match against South Africa shortened to 10 overs per side, and resulted in the hosts going into the game without a specialist spinner. Given the success both Maxwell and D’Arcy Short enjoyed, selectors will have to mull over whether Adam Zampa or Ashton Agar return to the XI. Stanlake and Tye look certain selections in the attack, and the same could almost be said of Nathan Coulter-Nile, who took 2-19 at the Gold Coast.

Having conceded 15 runs off his only over against South Africa, Jason Behrendorff could find himself benched against India. He did take 4-21 when he last played India in 2017. Ben McDermott is another player under pressure after a lean first five T20Is (38 at 9.50).

AUSTRALIA POSSIBLE XI: Aaron Finch (c), D’Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell , Alex Carey, Ben McDermott, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andrew Tye, Billy Stanlake

AUSTRALIA SQUAD: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Ben McDermott, Glenn Maxwell, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa

India has brought a bumper 16-man squad over for the three-match T20 series, giving Kohli options aplenty.

With the bat, the major question mark is over who makes way for the captain. Kohli sat out India’s three-match series against the West Indies and is a lock to play. The most likely candidate to fall out is Manish Pandey. That is tough on a man who had averaged 63.50 since India began its run of seven-straight series wins.

Pandey’s best chance of retaining selection is if rising star Rishabh Pant takes the gloves over Dinesh Karthik. The 21-year-old, who keeps in the Test side, has played all seven of his T20Is as a specialist batsman.

The make-up of India’s attack is also up for debate. With Hardik Pandya injured, older brother Krunal looks likely to slot into the middle order. Unlike his younger brother, K.Pandya is a spin-bowling all-rounder and if the tourists play both of their wrist-spinning weapons – Chahal and K.Yadav – they will only have two quicks to turn to.

India’s two best white-ball seamers are Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but expect Khaleel Ahmed to play some part in the series as India look to bed-in a left-arm option before next year’s World Cup.

INDIA POSSIBLE XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav/Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

INDIA SQUAD: Virat Kohli (c), Khaleel Ahmed, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Krunal Pandya, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav

Wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (4th) is the best ranked bowler in this series.

STAR PLAYER

Aaron Finch

He’s had a lean run in white-ball cricket of late, but if Finch gets going he’s just about the most destructive player on either side.

The Victorian is averaging 47.60 in T20I cricket this year with a strike rate of 188.14. No wonder he sits second on the ICC’s T20I batting rankings. Finch has typically fared well against India, with an average of 42.75 against the Asian powerhouse.

Rohit Sharma

Kohli is the obvious candidate for India, but on T20I form it has to be Sharma. The right-hander has scored two centuries in T20I cricket this year – something no man in history had previously achieved – and averaged more than 60 in each of his past two series.

There is a flipside to Sharma’s love of big scores however, with the opener guilty of being a rocks-or-diamonds player. Against the West Indies he scored 111 in the second match and 10 runs for the rest of the series. Against England he followed scores of 32 and 5 with a century. Removing Sharma early will be key for Australia.

FORM

Australia (most recent first)

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India (most recent first)

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Originally published as Australia v India Twenty20 international series: Ultimate Guide