India and Australia make travel to Sydney for the second T20I of the series. India dramatically won the first T20I after a Jadeja-Chahal show in Canberra and took a 1-0 lead in the three-matches series.
Match Timings: Dec 06, 1:40 PM IST
Team Preview
After running out winners twice in Canberra, Team India has now reached Sydney to play two final T20Is. Virat Kohli continued his winning streak as the captain in the shorter format with a 9th consecutive win in T20Is. On Friday, Men in Blue defeated the hosts by 11 runs despite the ups and down in the middle of the game. India was in deep trouble at one stage after losing six-wicket on 114, but Jadeja’s 23-balls 44 helped them to get 161. After scoring 52 in the powerplay, it was Australia’s game, but Chahal came as the concussion of injured-Jadeja and changed the momentum in favour of India. The visitors are on the verge of winning yet another T20I series Down Under. In 3-matches T20I bilateral series, India have lost once in its previous 15 series, and they have a winning percentage of 86.67.
Jadeja has been ruled of the T20I series, and Shardul Thakar has been named as the replacement. Thakur also played the final ODI and bagged three wickets. India can make some changes in the playing XI. Kohli can include Shreyas Iyer in the middle-order, and Samson would be retained after a decent outing. The skipper has to take a call on the 5th bowling option. Chahar, Natarajan, and Shami will be three pacers, followed by Sundar as the bowling all-rounder. For the 5th bowling-option, Chahal can get the nod from Kohli after his excellent performance in Canberra. Shardul can also bat in lower-order, so India can try him also to boost the lower-order.
It’s an important clash for India, and Kohli’s troops would try to wrap up the series on Sunday. Middle-order was tested in the last game, and they failed to convert the good start. Jadeja will not be there to finish, so India needs to start well. If India chases the total, they will be favourites in SCG.
Meanwhile, Australia needs to get over the concussion debate. Aaron Finch will lose his first T20I series at home if the Aussies fail to bounce back on Sunday. In death-overs, Australia lost the rhythm when they got Pandya out. In the last two overs, they conceded 34 runs, and it cost them a match. In the chase, they missed the opportunity after a dominating powerplay. In middle-order, they relied more on Smith, and it was a big blunder to them. Maxwell also couldn’t finish the game, and the Aussies’ middle-order has been exposed badly.
Wade was off the colors, and in this do-die clash at SCG, Finch can recall Alex Carey. Ashton Agar has been ruled of the series due to injury, and Nathan Lyon has been included. Along with Zampa, Finch can think about Lyon, but Lyon hasn’t been so impressive in white-ball. Swepson bowled well in Canberra, and the spin is not so prominent in Sydney, so chances to pick Lyon are pretty dull. Australia can also add Andrew Tye in place of Abbott. Stoinis’ injury is still in doubt, and team management would give him rest from this fixture.
Pitch Report
SCG’s surface is a batting-friendly wicket. It produces high-scoring games in the T20 format as well. The outfield is quick, and it favors batsmen. The chasing side will have an advantage.
Weather Report
The weather in Sydney is pretty clear and no rain is predicted. The temperature on Sunday will be around 29 degrees. We expect a slight dew in the night.
Possible XI
India
Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer/Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal/Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan
Australia
Aaron Finch (c), Steve Smith, D’Arcy Short, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Swepson/Nathan Lyon, Mathew Wade/Alex Carey (wk), Sean Abbott/Andrew Tye, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
Key Players
India
KL Rahul
Indian T20 League 2020 – M: 14, Runs: 670, Avg: 55.83
Previous outing – 51 (40)
Yuzvendra Chahal
Indian T20 League 2020 – M: 14, Wickets: 21, Avg: 19.29
Previous outing – 4-0-25-3
Australia
Steve Smith
Indian T20 League 2020 – M: 14, Runs: 311, SR: 131.22
ODI series – M: 3, Runs: 216, Avg: 72
Moises Henriques
Previous outing – 22/3 & 30 (20)
