Australia kicked off the three-match series against India with an impressive four-wicket win and now have the chance to go 2-0 up when the two teams clash again on Friday.
The series is the start of Australia’s preparations for the T20 World Cup defence and they will be delighted with the way they performed in the opener.
They managed to restrict India to 6-208 from their 20 overs with Nathan Ellis starring with the ball when taking three of the wickets for just 30 runs off his four overs.
He was the pick of the bowlers with Josh Hazlewood taking two wickets and Cameron Green the other.
But Green saved his best for the bat. The West Australian opened the batting with Aaron Finch in the absence of David Warner and smashed 61 runs off 30 deliveries as the Aussies chased down the total.
Steve Smith (35) and Matthew Wade (45) also did their bit as Australia reached the target with four balls to spare.
It was an impressive win and Australia will now look to wrap up the series on Friday. Let’s take a closer look at the second T20 clash.
What: India v Australia
Where: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
When: 23:30 (AEST) Tuesday 20th September 2022
How to watch: Kayo, Foxtel
Odds: India 4/7, Australia 11/8
Green dilemma for Aussies
For once Australia have no fresh injury worries and are likely to stick with the same side that won the first game. That is far from certain though as the Aussies may want to try and test a few things out with the T20 World Cup fast approaching.
Aaron Finch getting some runs on the board will be a relief to all concerned. 22 was not the big score he was after but it was a start and he will be looking to build on that.
The huge plus was the performance of Green when opening the batting. Strangely he has not been named in the T20 World Cup squad but the selectors may be thinking again following his performance on Tuesday.
Aussie legend Adam Gilchrist is certainly excited.
“Look out this summer,” he said on SEN. “The development and maturing of Cam Green before our eyes is just so exciting. You’ve almost got to suppress your excitement a little bit because you don’t want to overshoot it and put pressure on him.”
The Australians now have one less thing to worry about as if anyone is forced to pull out of the T20 World Cup through injury then Green will be ready to step in.
Australia will also be delighted with the performance of Steve Smith who moved up the order to bat at No.3 for the first time in a while.
But it was not an issue as he scored a tidy 35 runs off 24 deliveries and he will play there again on Friday.
Tim David was another to impress with 18 runs on his debut and again Gilchrist says there were plenty of positives to take from his display with the bat.
“He is like the good old axeman going out there and just swinging, and chopping threw the line of the ball,” Gilchrist added. “It’s going to be a challenging balancing up.”
Kane Richardson will miss out once again with a side strain, while Sean Abbott is pushing to play and could come in if the Aussies decide to rest either Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins.
Australia - 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Cameron Green, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Josh Inglis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
As for India they could make one or two changes as they look to bounce back and level the series in front of an expectant home crowd who will be demanding a response to the opening loss.
Their strike bowling is a concern with the T20 World Cup fast approaching and they struggled again in the first match.
Jasprit Bumrah missed the first match through injury and if fit India will be keen to get him back into the starting side.
If fit, then Bumrah is expected to come in and replace Umesh Yadav. There is also talk that R Aswin could come in for Yuzvendra Chahal.
India - 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah/Umesh Yadav, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal/R Ashwin
