Friday’s encounter between the two top ranked T20I sides in the world is the second game of a five-match series.
The opening encounter between the teams ended as a No Result after rain ruined the party in Canberra.
Neither of these sides has lost any of their last five games.
India’s Abhishek Sharma, who was the form player in the recently completed Asia Cup is currently the world’s top ranked T20I batsman. He is one of three Indian batters in the current top ten – the other two are Tilak Varma (3rd) and Kuldeep Yadav (8th). Despite his ranking, Abhishek was the only player dismissed in the series opener as he fell for 19 from 14 balls.
India is without the services of Shreyas Iyer who is recovering after he lacerated his spleen taking a catch in the third ODI.
Australia’s top ranked batsman is sixth placed Travis Head. Skipper Mitchell Marsh is in tenth spot.
Australia is without Adam Zampa, their all-time leading T20I wicket taker. He has been given time off for the birth of his child and has been replaced in the team by Leg spinner Tanveer Sangha.
The second T20I will be Josh Hazlewood’s last of the series as he is given time off to prepare for the Ashes.
Indian quick Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was expected to feature prominently in the T20I series in the absence of Hardik Pandya has been ruled out for the first three games of the series at least as his recovery from injury has been setback by the onset of neck spasms.
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
India has an excellent record at the MCG. They have played six games at the ground and lost just once.
Australia have won nine of their 15 games at the ground. They have lost five games and one game ended with no result.
The side batting second has won 11 times at the MCG while the side batting first has won seven.
The average first innings score at the ground is 141.
The highest score made at the venue was India’s 186/5 from 20 overs made by India against Zimbabwe at the 2022 T20I World Cup.
India holds the record for the highest score at the ground, but they also hold the record for the lowest. That score, a dismal 74 all out, came in a game against Australia back in 2008.
The highest score successfully chased at the MCG was Sri Lanka’s 172/5 from 20 overs (they struck the winning runs from the final ball of the game), made against Australia in 2017
The lowest score successfully defended at the ground was Australia’s 127all out made against Pakistan in 2010
Weather:
It’s not looking good for cricket in Melbourne on Friday. Forecasts are predicting a rainy day with a 50% chance of precipitation. The daytime high will be 19°C, while the low temperature will drop to 13°C. The humidity is forecast to be around 74%, and light winds will come from the south. It’s expected to clear towards night with skies turning partly cloudy and the chances of rain diminishing.
Form (most recent game first):
Australia: NR, W, NR, W, W
India: NR, W, W, W, W.
Key player:
Australia, Mitch Marsh: The Aussie skipper has been in good form in recent games, and he heads into Friday’s encounter averaging 54.6 from his last five T20I outings. Striking the ball well and unafraid to go at it from the start of the innings, Marsh is ranked tenth in the world. While Travis Head may be ranked ahead of him, Marsh is the form player in the Aussie lineup. He comes into the game with a T20I batting average of 33.26. His average against India is however only 25 – a number he will be hoping to improve.
India, Suryakumar Yadav: By his exceptionally high standards the Indian skipper was going through something of a barren period up until the series opener. With a career average of 37.62, Yadav’s average from his last 20 games was 18.33, while from the last five games he was averaging 4,5. But he looked fluent in the Canberra opener When rain stopped the game Yadav was on 39 from 24 having hit three boundaries from the last four balls he faced.
Verdict: India
the absence of Hardik Pandya gives India a slightly unbalanced look, but they are nevertheless a formidable outfit and a very confident one. They were looking good when the rain came in Canberra and with the series now moving to Melbourne, a venue where they boast an excellent record, expect India to draw first blood against the Aussies, who you can’t help feeling already have one eye on the upcoming Ashes series.
