India & Australia to clash in second game of five-match T20I series in Thiruvananthapuram
In Cricket, India and Australia will clash in their second game of the five-match T20 I series, at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram today, November 26. The match will start at 7 PM Indian Time.
India had won the first game at Visakhapatnam on Thursday by two wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series India and the Aussies are playing with a different squad, with many of their players from the World Cup team rested.
To Thiruvananthapuram then, which is as far south as international cricket travels in India. When the Greenfield International Stadium here made its international cricket debut in 2017, the then India captain Virat Kohli had expressed “surprise” at why the venue hadn’t hosted games earlier, so impressed he was with the outfield, the crowd and facilities in general. Six years later, this second T20I between India and Australia is going to be the sixth international cricket game here despite a two-year Covid timeout. That’s impressive by Indian standards, given there are so many venues to choose from.
Once again, the challenge upfront will be about adjusting to the nuances of conditions at this venue. Compared to Visakhapatnam, the pitch in this coastal city is likely to be slower, the bounce lower and the sun hotter, but India of all teams would know that conditions alone won’t be enough to stump Australia.
India of course come into this game full of confidence, having pulled off their highest successful T20I run-chase despite a squad rife with inexperience. Mukesh Kumar’s immaculate death bowling, Rinku Singh’s finishing skills and the overall intent from everyone, including Yashasvi, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav the captain himself, was notable but there’s work to be done, especially with regards to running between the wickets. The first match saw as many as three run-outs, a joint-most for India in the format.
For Australia, Josh Inglis’s 47-ball hundred and Jason Behrendorff’s frugal spell with the ball, which saw him adeptly use slower deliveries on a true batting surface, stood out in a close two-wicket defeat. And the team would have left Visakhapatnam knowing that it was a match that could have easily gone their way, so less separated the two teams. They would ideally want to touch down in Guwahati one-all.
Squads:
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube
Australia Squad: Steven Smith, Matthew Short, Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Matthew Wade(w/c), Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha, Kane Richardson, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Adam Zampa
