Australia vs India 2nd T20 Preview: Can India seal T20 series win?

By Sridhar Bhamidi

04 Dec 2020

Sridhar Bhamidi 04 Dec 2020

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India won the opening T20 on Friday
Australia will bid to level the series on Sunday at the SCG
Australia have lost both the T20Is at this venue against India
India are unbeaten in their last seven away T20Is

Steve Smith of Australia bats during game one (Getty Images)

A controversial concussion substitute hogged all the attention as India defeated Australia by 11 runs in the first T20I at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. As the series moves back to Sydney, the onus is on Australia, who are facing injury concerns of their own.

The second T20I of the series will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Australia Form

Mitchell Starc stormed back to form with figures of 4-0-34-2 as Australia restricted India to 161/7. It was the all-rounder Moises Henriques who did the star turn, though, with figures of 4-0-22-3. However, conceding 46 runs in the last three overs proved to be their undoing.

The hosts couldn’t chase the score down, as only three players got themselves into the 30s and didn’t kick on. D’Arcy Short, who’s on a comeback trail to the national team, struggled with his strike rate and could only make 34 off 38 balls.

Australia News

Australia were missing David Warner and Pat Cummins before the start of action on Friday, while Ashton Agar added to the list and was ruled out of the series. His replacement Mitchell Swepson could get another game. Meanwhile, captain Aaron Finch has struggled with a hip/glute problem and could be ruled out. That might open the doors for Matthew Wade to captain the side.

India Form

KL Rahul continued his good IPL form with another fluent 51 off 40 balls at the top of the order for India. Barring him, only Sanju Samson (23) added crucial runs in the top-order. If not for Ravindra Jadeja’s sparkling 44 off just 23 balls, India would have struggled to even put 140 on the board.

Jadeja’s concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal spun his web with the ball and took 3/25 to turn the chase upside down for Australia. He received ample support from debutante T Natarajan, who finished with figures of 4-0-30-3.

India News

Jadeja’s fitness will be tested as he looked stuck with a hamstring injury apart from the dizziness after being hit on the helmet. India do not have many options in the squad, which could mean a game for Shreyas Iyer or Shardul Thakur.

Australia vs India Head to Head

Australia’s record against India worsened to 8-12 in 21 T20Is, while that at home is now 3-6. Their record at the SCG is a healthy 4-2, although both the losses have come against India.

Australia vs India Match Up

India carried on from the confidence of third ODI performance to put up a disciplined effort in Canberra. There is no doubt that the presence of Chahal as substitute made Kohli’s job easier. If they can find some runs from the faltering top-order, India will once again prove a tough nut to crack.

Australia vs India Stats

Australia have lost both the T20Is at this venue against India.
India are unbeaten in their last seven away T20Is.
India have won each of their last eight T20Is when they were chasing.
The chasing side has won each of the last four T20Is at this venue.
Virat Kohli is the highest run scorer in H2H T20Is and has four 50+ scores in his last six T20Is in Australia.
KL Rahul has five 50+ scores in his last nine T20Is with a lowest score of 27, highest score of 91, and average of 58.13.

Prediction

India will look to put in another all-round effort to stifle the Australians. Both teams will be hampered by injuries, as Jadeja and Finch are likely to miss the match.

This match could once again boil down to how well the sides execute their plans. India have a slight edge on that, not the least because of Australia’s injury concerns. Keep an eye on Australia’s starts as they have been starting on the front foot in almost every match of this tour.

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