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India batted superbly, although given their thin bowling attack, one would have thought it would be a lot closer. Unfortunately for Australia, their batting just didn’t click once they lost their first wicket.
They tried going too hard, too early at the bowlers rather than taking time to settle in. To add to that, the Indian spinners bowled well in the middle overs, which allowed them entry back into the game.
Australia need to turn things around. This is just one defeat, but without a World T20 championship under their belt, the answers need to come soon, especially given they won’t be playing too many T20Is in the lead-up to that tournament in March.
A lead for India for a change, but can they take advantage of it and complete a series win next game, on Friday at the MCG?
The Twenty20 International series between Australia and India starts on Australia Day at the Adelaide Oval, as the two sides face off in the first of three games. You can follow live scores and a blog of this match from 7:38pm (AEDT).
A win in the final ODI of the series, after having lost four in a row, give India a bit of a respite going into these T20Is.
They would have been hurting from the defeat in the previous game, a match they should have won easily, but a superb performance by the pair of Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey drove them to a thrilling win in the final game.
Rohit was dismissed for 99, one short of what would have been his third century of the series while Pandey, in just the fourth ODI of his career, scored his first ton. What made it special was the way he timed his innings, and went on to win the match for his side.
Unfortunately for India, Pandey isn’t a part of the Indian squad for these games but India does have the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Ashish Nehra, apart from a few of the other youngsters.
Rishi Dhawan and Gurkeerat Mann are in the team as well, as they look to overturn a poor ODI series against Australia while it could also be the first time for Hardik Pandya, a hard-hitting all-rounder in the middle-order.
There’s a recall for Nehra, who could well be slotted into the bowling attack along with Umesh Yadav and newcomer Jasprit Bumrah, while Ravindra Jadeja might be at least one of their spinners. The presence of Raina and Yuvraj could allow captain MS Dhoni to play an all-rounder as their fifth bowler which means one of Gurkeerat, Rishi or Pandya could feature here.
The Aaron Finch-led Australians also have a selection headache given the presence of some of the top players following a highly-successful Big Bash League.
Finch and David Warner will be a shoo-in at the top while Steven Smith is the most likely number three but it’s the slots after that which need a few moments to think through.
Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson and James Faulkner will all be vying for the all-rounders’ spots but it depends on how many the Aussies pick. Maxwell’s position in the side looks most certain while Faulkner’s under-par showing in the ODIs could change his position in the team.
They also have two frontline spinners to choose from in Nathan Lyon and Cameron Boyce while the pace bowling attack consists of the in-form Kane Richardson and John Hastings, with Shaun Tait’s high speeds and BBL form a ready method to test out the opposition.
In nine previous T20Is, Australia hold a narrow 5-4 lead over India but home conditions should give them the advantage.
You can follow the live scores and a blog of this first T20I between Australia and India from 7:38pm (AEDT) on Tuesday and post your comments in the section below.
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