India and Australia all square at 1-1 with two games still to play
This is the fourth game of a five-match series. The teams head into the game level at 1-1, after the series opener was rained out.
India levelled the series in Hobart on the weekend after Australia won the second game in Melbourne.
India is the ICC’s top ranked T20I side while Australia is ranked second.
Australian opener Travis Head will play no further part in the series as he leaves the squad to play Sheffield Shield cricket for South Australia – part of his preparation for the upcoming Ashes.
Australia is also without Sean Abbott and Josh Hazelwood who have also left the squad to play Sheffield Shield cricket ahead of the Ashes opener at the end of the month. As a result of their departure Ben Dwarshuis has been added to the squad for the final two games.
India have also released a player for the final two games of the series with Kuldeep Yadav heading back home to prepare for the Test series against South Africa.
Indian opener Abhishek Sharma is the current number one ranked batsman in T20I cricket. His teammate Tilak Varma is ranked three. Varma scored 29 runs in the third T20I.
Australian batsman Tim David was back to his best in the third T20I as he hit 72 runs from 38 balls in what was an otherwise disappointing Australian innings. One of David’s five maximums travelled a massive 129 meters.
Glenn Maxwell has recovered from the fractured wrist that kept him out of action since mid-September and is back in the squad. He didn’t play in Hobart but looks set for a start on Thursday.
Venue: Carrara Oval, Gold Coast
The Carrara Oval on the outskirts of Gold Coast, is primarily recognized as a football venue. It has seldom been used for international cricket with only two T20I played here previously.
Australia have played both games at the ground, winning once and losing once.
India have never played a T20I at the venue.
The average first innings score at the ground is just 126 runs – although this is skewed by the fact that the first T20I played here was reduced to a 10 over aside shootout after a rain delay.
The highest successful chase at the ground was Australia’s 146/7 made against the West Indies in 2022.
The two game sample size is too limited to draw any real conclusions on whether this is a chasing or a setting venue. South Africa won here batting first in 2018, while Australia won when chasing in 2022.
Weather:
It looks good for cricket in Gold Coast on Thursday with no rain predicted in the area until the weekend. Expect it to be partly cloudy with a maximum temperature around 26 degrees and a minimum of 17. The weather will be dry, with only a 10 percent chance of rain and less than 1mm of possible rainfall should it happen. Light Easterly winds are expected.
Form (most recent game first):
Australia: L, W, NR, W, NR.
India: W, L, NR, W, W.
Key player:
Australia, Tim David: At 6ft4 tall David is a powerful man at the crease and when he gets going, he hits the ball a very long way. David was out early in the second T20I but struck form in Hobart with a well-played 72. David’s record against India isn’t great – he averages just 27.6 against them, but it’s worth noting that his Hobart knock was only his second innings against India on home soil. His average in Australia is a fraction under 40 and he will be looking to add to that from the crucial number four spot on Thursday.
India, Suryakumar Yadav: India’s top order is very impressive with three of the top four batters ranked inside the ICC’s top ten T20I batters. Skipper Yadav, who comes in at three, is one of those players. Yadav averages 36.94 in T20I cricket but what is most impressive is the rate he scores at, his runs coming at a strike rate of 164,20. He is averaging 32 in the series thus far. It has been 17 games since Yadav passed 50 in a T20I. For a man who has 21 fifties from 88 innings, he is overdue for some big runs.
Verdict: India
This will be another close game but there are two things in India’s favour. Firstly, their focus appears to be clearer with Australia very much looking ahead to the Ashes which has result in plenty of chopping and changing to the squad. Secondly the way India went about their chase in Hobart was impressive – while nobody scored huge runs, everyone made starts and contributed. Each of the top seven made double figures which bodes well for India for games four and five.
