Australia vs India – 1st T20 International Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Australia vs India taking place? Friday, December 4th, 2020 – 08:10 (UK)
Where is Australia vs India taking place? Manuka Oval, Canberra
What is the expected weather for Australia vs India? 28c sunny
What channel is Australia vs India on? The match will be televised live on BT Sport 1 (Sky channel 413)
Where can I stream Australia vs India? The match can be streamed live using the BT Sport app
Where can I get tickets for Australia vs India? Tickets for this match can be purchased here!
LAST MEETING
Australia beat India by 7 wickets
THE TEAM NEWS
AUSTRALIA
- Australia are coming off a 2-1 series win in the one-day format which will give them confidence ahead of these T20 matches where they will be keen to do well ahead of next year’s World Cup.
- They will be without David Warner and Marcus Stoinis who continue to struggle with injury while Ashton Agar is a doubt with the calf problem he picked up in the final ODI so his participation could be questionable.
- The likelihood is that they will field a similar side to that final ODI but Matthew Wade or D’Arcy Short should come in for Marnus Labuschagne and there is an outside chance that Mitchell Starc could be handed a rest at some stage.
INDIA
- India come into this T20 series hoping to pick up where they left off back at the start of 2020 when they beat Sri Lanka and New Zealand in two series going unbeaten in eight matches (five wins, two tied, one no result) and they will take heart from winning the last ODI despite losing the series earlier this week.
- The form of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja in that final ODI will give them some confidence coming into the shortest format of the game and they will hope the fact the IPL has not long finished will see them well prepared for these T20s.
- KL Rahul is expected to move up the order to partner Shikhar Dhawan which could see Manish Pandey come into the middle order while T20 specialist bowler Deepak Chahar will come in to strengthen the bowling attack.
THE PREDICTION
India’s tour of Australian moves on to the T20s now after the hosts won the fascinating one-day series 2-1 and this opening match takes place at the high-scoring Manuka Oval in Canberra. Both teams will have reasonable confidence coming into this game but the Aussies are weakened by the absence of Warner and Stoinis which will add pressure to Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell especially. The Indian team is arguably a little more settled than the hosts coming into this opening game and after being outplayed in the first two ODIs, they have shown signs of closing the gap. This format will suit the tourists more than the ODIs so a much closer game is anticipated but ultimately the hosts are slightly favoured.
