India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to field first at Bellerive Oval, Hobart on November 2. Suryakumar made three changes to the side after the comprehensive defeat in the second T20I at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Suryakumar dropped Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav and Sanju Samson. Arshdeep Singh, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma and all-rounder Washington Sundar have walked in to the playing eleven.
"We are going to bowl first. The ball will come on nicely to the bat in the 2nd innings. Happy to take it one game at a time. We have three changes - Jitesh, Arshdeep and Washington come in," Suryakumar said after winning the toss.
India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is, Arshdeep is playing his first T20I on the tour. On the other hand, Jitesh has got his first chance since he was recalled to the T20I squad for the T20 Asia Cup 2025. This will be his first game since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final. His only appearance during this period was in the state T20 franchise league.
On the other hand, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh made just one change to the playing eleven. Since Josh Hazlewood left the squad to prepare for the Ashes, he has been replaced with Sean Abbott.
"It's a belter of a wicket. Want to get off to a good start and post a big total. We have just the one change - Abbott is in for Hazlewood," Marshs said at the coin toss.
Glenn Maxwell did not make a comeback to the T20I side. Maxwell had a surgery after he injured his wrist while bowling in the nets to Mitch Owen on New Zealand tour. He is yet to play a game since his surgery. In his previous appearance, Abbott claimed three wickets against New Zealand in the winning cause.
India vs Australia Playing XIs:
India Playing XI: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia Playing XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann.