AUSTRALIA VS. INDIA: INDIA’S TOUR OF AUSTRALIA 2020, 2nd T20 | MATCH PREDICTION AND FANTASY CRICKET TIPS
Australia take on India in the second T20I at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday evening.
India have taken an early lead in the 3-match series with an 11-run win in the first T20I. It was a surprising loss for the hosts as they had dominated the proceedings for most parts of the game. They will take heart from the fact that they won both the ODIs at Sydney on this tour and will be eager to bounce back and level the series.
Skipper A Finch will be disappointed to have lost the last game after getting a good start chasing the score. He and D Short played well in the last game and they will be looking to give a good start here as well. After Finch and D Short, nobody could contribute much except M Henriques. S Smith, G Maxwell, and M Wade will be looking to make amends in this game. M Starc was in better form than what he showed in the ODI series.
India will consider themselves to have been a little lucky in the last game. Y Chahal, who came in as a concussion substitute for R Jadeja, bowled superbly after Jadeja had taken the team to a respectable total. V Kohli will like to go for the kill in this game, but their batting has to improve if they want to challenge Australia on a better batting surface.
L Rahul looked in brilliant form, and S Sampson hit a few lusty blows. D Chahar bowled well after an ordinary first over. Y Chahal showed his worth in the last game and should be a part of the playing XI here too. T Natrajan was impressive on his debut and will be looking to continue his form. The big blow will be R Jadeja’s unavailability for the rest of the T20I series.
With the series at stake for Australia and a golden opportunity for India to win the series before going into the final, it will be an exciting game of T20 cricket at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Match Details
- Match: Australia vs. India, 2nd T20
- Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
- Date & Time: Dec. 6, 2020, at 1.40 PM IST
Probable Playing XI
Australia
A Finch (C), D Short, S Smith, M Henriques, G Maxwell, M Wade (WK), M Starc, M Swepson, S Abbott, A Tye, A Zampa
India
S Dhawan, L Rahul (WK), V Kohli (C), S Samson, M Pandey, H Pandya, W Sundar, T Natarajan, Y Chahal, D Chahar, J Bumrah
Weather and Pitch Report
It will be a sunny day in Sydney with a slight breeze, perfect weather to play cricket. The temperature will be around 25 degrees during the game.
A good batting track, similar to the tracks used in the ODIs, is expected in Sydney and the ball is expected to come onto the bat fairly well. While pacers will get help early on from this surface, the batsmen should feel comfortable in the middle. Although we did not see much turn on the surface in the last game here, the large boundaries will help the spinners in the middle overs.
Both teams will look to chase on winning the toss as the last four T20Is have been won chasing. Anything around 180 should be a competitive total here.
Key Players
- A Finch looked good in the 1st T20I scoring 35 off 26 balls. He had a fantastic ODI series, where he was the highest run scorer with 249 runs including 2 fifties and a hundred.
- M Henriques had a terrific outing in the 1st T20I, where he bowled good lengths and picked up 3 key wickets conceding just 22 runs. He also scored a quick-fire 30 runs with the bat.
- A Zampa bowled better than his figures suggested in the first game. Although he did not pick up many wickets, he gave away just 20 runs in his four overs. With big boundaries here to support bowling, expect him to be among the wickets.
- L Rahul showed in the first T20I why he is a prized player for India. He scored the only fifty of the game, at a decent strike rate of 127.5. Expect him to make a good score here.
- S Samson looked fluent during his time in the middle, scoring 23 off 15 balls. He got an opportunity in the playing XI and will want to score a big one here to cement his place in the side.
- Y Chahal, not part of the initial playing XI, came in as a concussion substitute for R Jadeja and turned the match in India's favor with a brilliant spell of 3 for 25 in four overs.
Howzat Dream Team
- Wicketkeepers: L Rahul, S Samson
- Batsmen: D Short, A Finch, M Henriques, S Dhawan
- All-rounders: H Pandya
- Bowlers: Y Chahal, T Natarajan, A Zampa, M Starc
- Captain: L Rahul/M Henriques
- Vice Captain: A Zampa/T Natarajan
NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own fantasy dream team, and play fantasy premier league. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.
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