New think-tank: Coach Laxman and skipper Suryakumar focus on the game-plan.
| Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR
The reminiscences of the World Cup last between India and Australia are nonetheless vivid, and for the Indian fan, the wound from the loss has barely begun to heal. It was a spectacular marketing campaign for the hosts they usually solely faltered on the last hurdle against the mighty Aussies.
On Thursday, the 2 groups will meet right here on the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium to kick off a five-match T20 worldwide sequence.
Not surprisingly, India has opted for a new line-up, giving most members of its World Cup squad a much-needed relaxation after a gruelling two-and-a-half months which began with the Asia Cup in September. Only three gamers, Suryakumar Yadav — who will lead the workforce — Ishan Kishan and Prasidh Krishna proceed from the ODI squad.
Though cricket’s marquee occasion simply ended, the ICC T20 World Cup, the following huge occasion, is justs seven months away. With India set to play simply 11 T20Is from now until June subsequent yr, aside from the Indian Premier League, the preparations for the event within the West Indies and the U.S. will start in earnest right here on Thursday.
Since successful the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, India has had a poor run within the event, reaching the summit conflict solely as soon as (in 2014) the place it misplaced to Sri Lanka. In final yr’s occasion in Australia, England blew India away by 10 wickets within the semifinals.
The squad for this sequence consists of many youngsters who’ve proven promise within the IPL and have been a part of the profitable tour to Ireland and on the Asian Games. But the following 10 days can be their first actual likelihood to test their skills against a top-quality worldwide workforce and stake a declare for a extra constant run on the highest degree.
It can be fascinating to see if Ishan Kishan dons the large glove or if Jitesh Sharma, who practised his retaining skills on Wednesday, will do the job. The sequence additionally gives a likelihood for all-rounder Axar Patel to get again into the groove after lacking the World Cup due to a quadricep pressure.
Australia can have as many as seven gamers from the World Cup-winning squad for this sequence, with wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade main the side. With situations within the West Indies doubtless to be related to India, the Men in Yellow would need the youngsters to get acclimatised to spinning pitches.
Though Travis Head, Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell are a part of the squad, Wade insisted they received’t be pressured into taking part in the primary match.
Despite resting its front-line quicks, Australia has a robust bowling assault led by pacers Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis and Jason Behrendorff, with leg-spinners Adam Zampa and Tanveer Sangha to complement them.
While the scheduling of this sequence may not be very best, coming simply 4 days after an thrilling World Cup last, Suryakumar’s males will look to overcome Sunday’s loss and begin preparations for India’s subsequent huge goal.
The groups (from):
India: Suryakumar Yadav (Capt.), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar.
Australia: Matthew Wade (Capt.), Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa.
Umpires: Nitin Menon & Rohan Pandit; TV Umpire: J.R. Madanagopal; Reserve umpire: Okay.N. Ananthapadmanabhan; Match Referee: Javagal Srinath.
Match begins at 7 p.m.
