INDIA VS AUSTRALIA T-20 LIVE SCORE
Cricket is back in India and so are the big guns! Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, who were rested for the most recent series against New Zealand return to face the touring Australian side, which will also be the first home commitment for the Indians in 2019. The only limited-over games tour begins with a couple of T20Is, the first of which will be played at Visakhapatnam. The last time these two faced off in Nov 2018 in Australia in this format, it was a 1-1 scoreline with one of the three games being a no-result to due to rain. What is a bigger coincidence is that, the last time these two teams faced in India in the format, it was a 1-1 scoreline as well with one game being abandoned due to a soft outfield in Hyderabad. Cut to the present now though, the home side have announced a really strong squad to face the Aussies and seem to mean business even when there were suspicions that a few senior members might be rested. The visitors hence who do not boast of a great record against India in India at T20Is having lost 4 out of the 5 games played so far, have their task cut out.
Aaron Finch on the eve of the match, has said that the final playing eleven is yet to be decided and will be announced on match day. They have a slight blow in the form of Shaun Marsh, who has a really good track record in the Indian T20 League, staying back for the birth of his child. The thing working in their favor though is that their players are coming off BBL and many of them had a good hit out there, especially Marcus Stoinis who Virat Kohli considers the danger man. On the other hand, India have an early blow in the form of Hardik Pandya being ruled out which means another run for Vijay Shankar to prove his credentials. There is also a new face in the form of Mayank Markande and relatively new Siddharth Kaul in the squad. Another question for them would be whether KL Rahul plays and if he does, where does he bat? All the questions will be answered on Sunday. Right then, let's cut to action now in this meaningless T20I series in the World Cup year (I say that because even the Indian skipper felt the teams would have better served if these were ODIs). Anyways, a run-fest seems to be on the cards at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. Up to the Kangaroos to surprise Kohli and co. in their den...
