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Australia captain Aaron Finch won the all-important toss in the first T20I against India and elected to field first. The big news was that swashbuckling all-rounder Tim David was handed his maiden Australia cap just before the toss. For India, Jasprit Bumrah's return to the playing XI was delayed while Dinesh Karthik was preferred over Rishabh Pant.
Here's the playing XI of both teams for the 1st T20I:
India: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Australia: Aaron Finch(c), Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
“It is an opportunity to test ourselves. Every game is a big game to learn. We got to learn so much in the last six-eight months on how to win games. This series will be no different for us to express ourselves. Looking at what happened in the Asia Cup, we had a chance to reflect on where we went wrong. This gives us an opportunity to correct ourselves as a group. Nothing changes in terms of our approach,” India captain Rohit Sharma told host broadcaster Star Sports.
India will look to sort out their middle-order combinations and give shape to their plans for the T20 World Cup in the series against Australia.Though India bated well at the Asia Cup, they resorted to a lot of changes during the tournament. Their lack of depth in the bowling department was exposed but the return of Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah will bolster the attack.
Meanwhile, Rohit has confirmed that KL Rahul partner him in the opening slots in Australia but there we might also see Virat Kohli open alongside him. With the star batter scoring a memorable hundred in his last T20 innings, there will always be a temptation to make him bat at the top.
The top-four are pretty much fixed but questions will be raised about the role of wicketkeepers Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the playing eleven. With Ravindra Jadeja injured, we might see India keep the left-handed Pant over Karthik who is a designated finisher in the squad.
Australia, on the other hand, has come to India without a few of their main players including David Warner (rested).
Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh, who are nursing minor injuries ahead of the World Cup, have also stayed back in Australia. The focus will be on skipper Aaron Finch, who recently retired from ODIs after a prolonged lean patch. He will be aiming for a bagful of runs ahead of the World Cup at home.
Another player who has attracted a lot of attention is power-hitter Tim David who is set to make his Australia debut after playing international cricket for Singapore. David has made a name for himself with his performances in the T20 leagues around the world and he would be looking to replicate that at the highest level.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.
Australia: Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.
(With PTI Inputs)
