India vs Australia 1st T20I: Virat Kohli aims to sustain confidence, hosts eye turnaround

Virat Kohli’s Indian cricket team got a new lease of life as their ODI campaign in 2020 ended. For the first time since 2008, their skipper Virat Kohli did not hit a century in a calendar year. India had lost seven consecutive games and they had never won against Australia at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. However, they won the final game by 13 runs and they avoided the whitewash in a thrilling fashion. The confidence that they have gotten following the win in Canberra will not be transferred to the Twenty20 Internationals where they have a better record against Australia.

In 20 matches, India have won 11 and lost eight. More importantly, they have won four out of six T20Is in Australia since 2016 but Australia have won three out of the last five encounters. India had initially dominated the contests but Australia have bounced back. Both sides have players who performed brilliantly in the IPL. However, it is the Indian stars who hold the slight edge over Australia heading into the match at the Manuka Oval.

Indian cricket team dominant on all fronts

The leading run-getter in IPL 2020 was KL Rahul with over 600 runs. Jasprit Bumrah was the star with 27 wickets in the IPL as he helped Mumbai Indians to the title for the fifth time. Mohammed Shami has been in great form while Shikhar Dhawan hit two centuries. Mayank Agarwal also hit a century in IPL 2020 while Hardik Pandya’s brilliance in the lower order proved vital for Mumbai Indians as well as the three ODIs. With so much variety, the Indian cricket team hold all the aces against Australia.

Australia cricket team plagued by injuries

The hosts, on the other hand, are plagued with injury issues. David Warner is out of the series with a groin injury, robbing the top order of power. Aaron Finch was inconsistent for RCB while the bowling has also been hampered by Pat Cummins’ poor form in IPL 2020 as well as the lack of rhythm and injury to Mitchell Starc. Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar were impressive in the ODIs but against an Indian team that consists of power hitters, they might be put to the sword.

Probable Playing XIs

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli (Captain), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar/Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, T Natarajan, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami

Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques/ Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood/ Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye

Match details

Match: Australia vs India

Date and Time: December 4, 2020, 1:40 PM IST

Venue: Manuka Oval, Canberra