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India and Australia begin T20 series after intense World Cup encounter
A fan who painted his body with the Indian national flag holds an Indian flag outside Narendra Modi Stadium ahead of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia in Ahmedabad, India, November 18, 2023.REUTERS/Amit Dave
India and Australia are set to face off once again, this time in an exciting five match T20 series, just days after their intense clash in the ICC Cricket World Cup final. The showdown kicks off in Vishakhapatnam on Thursday, followed by matches in Thiruvananthapuram on November 26 and Guwahati on November 28. The last two matches will take place in Bengaluru on December 1 and Raipur on December 3.
Suryakumar Yadav will lead India as the captain for this series, with only three players from the World Cup final team making the cut. Yadav, a strong middle order batsman, is making his debut as captain. Shreyas Iyer will join him as vice-captain for the Raipur and Bengaluru fixtures, according to an announcement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Australia, however, will be missing veteran opener David Warner who has opted out of the series following his impressive performance in the World Cup.
With only seven players left from their World Cup winning team in India, including Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith, Australia is relying on all-rounder Aaron Hardie to step up and fill the void left by Warner.
Looking back at India’s journey in the World Cup, they entered the final as favourites but unfortunately suffered a six wicket loss against Pat Cumminss Australia in Ahmedabad. This heartbreak has motivated India to regroup and face their opponent once again.
The upcoming series comes after a three match one day international (ODI) series that took place in September on Indian soil. In that series, the hosts emerged victorious with a 2 1 scoreline. When it comes to T20 matches, India has a historical advantage with 15 wins out of 25 encounters against Australia. The most recent bilateral T20 series between the two nations occurred in September 2022 and ended in a 2 1 triumph for India.
Here are the squads for the series:
India:
- Suryakumar Yadav (Captain)
- Ruturaj Gaikwad
- Ishan Kishan
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Tilak Varma
- Rinku Singh
- Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper)
- Washington Sundar
- Axar Patel
- Shivam Dube
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Arshdeep Singh
- Prasidh Krishna
- Avesh Khan
- Mukesh Kumar
Australia:
- Matthew Wade (captain)
- Aaron Hardie
- Jason Behrendorff
- Sean Abbott
- Tim David
- Nathan Ellis
- Travis Head
- Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper)
- Glenn Maxwell
- Tanveer Sangha
- Matt Short
- Steve Smith
- Marcus Stoinis
- Kane Richardson
- Adam Zampa
