Big picture: Thiruvananthapuram is expected to swing
What did you not receive from the ODI World Cup? Sufficient last-ball suspense? Runs from Josh Inglis and Suryakumar Yadav? Having wristspinners carried around? That explains why we have bilaterals, then.
Only four days had passed since Australia’s World Cup victory when a number of its players remained behind and others joined them for a five-match Twenty20 International series. The series began with a thrilling encounter that culminated in a last-ball six that was not even recorded on the scoreboard. Steven Smith opened the batting, Ishan Kishan came in at No. 3, and Inglis hit Australia’s joint-fastest men’s T20I century as a result of the drastic changes in lineups and fortunes. However, certain other aspects did not change. The format changed, but Suryakumar’s dominance returned. India still only had seven batsmen, and runs flowed freely on an Indian wicket. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins all went home, but Australia’s bowlers managed to rally and almost win after India needed just 14 from 12 and 7 from the final over.
Now, the action shifts even farther south to Thiruvananthapuram, where in cloudy conditions during the last Twenty20 International in September 2022, South Africa lost to 9 for 5. Given that it rained on Saturday, the weather could be cloudy once more, requiring the teams to adjust their schedules.
Smith’s technical know-how will help Australia before the harder-hitting hitters take over if the ball does swing. Still, they would have preferred a few more runs outside of Smith and Inglis. Despite facing 91 balls apiece, the duo was responsible for more than 80% of Australia’s runs in the first game of the series. After scoring just 87 runs in five World Cup innings, Marcus Stoinis will be eager to smash the ball after facing just six balls. Australia, who was 179 for 2 with three overs remaining, will also be kicking themselves for not scoring more than 208 on a batting track. This was due to India’s quicks, particularly Mukesh Kumar, who stopped the run flow with a variety of bouncers, yorkers, slower balls, and hard lengths, culminating in an incredible five-run last over.
At both ends of the chase, India were in trouble, particularly when Rinku Singh’s last-ball six gave the full house a smile to remember, even though Sean Abbott’s no-ball robbed Rinku of that six. India almost fluffed their lines by falling from 194 for 4 to 208 for 8. India will once more need to be cautious of this brittleness in the lower middle order, particularly considering that their batting finishes at No. 7, unless they alter their lineup. After just one game, legspinner Ravi Bishnoi leaked 54 in four overs. Will they replace him with an all-rounder like Washington Sundar or Shivam Dube (in swinging conditions)?
During the World Cup, Ravi Bishnoi was instrumental in Gujarat’s victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking 13 wickets in eight matches at an average of just 6.09 runs per over. Taking four wickets in two games in Ireland this year was one of his best moments. In the one T20I he played in the Caribbean, he was wicketless. Nonetheless, he could take solace in the 16 wickets he took in the IPL, which were vital to the Lucknow Super Giants’ third-place result. However, he also let up 7.74 runs per over there. It will be interesting to see how he plays in the second Twenty20 International, especially considering the competition for slots in the June 2024 T20 World Cup.
Marcus Stoinis must have been desperate to perform well in this series after registering batting averages of 21.75 and bowling averages of 35.75 in six World Cup games. Before the World Cup, he led Australia’s chase of 191 runs to thrash South Africa, scoring an undefeated 37 off 21. However, in the main competition, he was dismissed in the latter half of innings when the team was expecting more runs than he could muster, with a best of 35 from five innings. Like it did for Suryakumar, the shorter format might free him up, and assisting the team in leveling the series might give him the boost he needs.
Team updates
Since the series consists of five matches, India might not make many changes. However, it was unexpected that Kishan started the first game at No. 3, since it was expected that he would compete with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad for the first spot. Swing would force India to alter their lineup, and adding Dube as a spinner might be one alternative. However, it would be unfair to omit Axar Patel, and Dube would significantly reduce India’s bowling options if he were to replace Bishnoi. Apart from the starting XI of the first T20I, Jitesh Sharma, Washington, and Avesh Khan are India’s other possibilities.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, and India (probably) Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, and Arshdeep Singh are the next six.
Australia doesn’t really need to change their starting lineup, although World Cup winners Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, and Adam Zampa have remained in the lineup and will eventually be moved back. When the opportunity arises, Head will have to decide whether to use it for Smith or Matthew Short. Tanveer Sangha’s costly period, which saw him score 47 runs in four overs, wasn’t good for the team or for him. Kane Richardson and Aaron Hardie make up the rest of their team.
Australia (likely): Josh Inglis, Steven Smith, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, and 5 Tim David 6 Aaron Hardie 7 (capt, wk) Matthew Wade 8 Sean Abbott 9 Tanveer Sangha, 10 Jason Behrendorff, and 11 Nathan Ellis
Pitch and circumstances
There have only been three Twenty20 international matches played in Thiruvananthapuram, and the results show that it hasn’t been easy for teams batting first: 67 for 5 in an eight-over match, 170 for 7 on a sluggish field, and 106 for 8. Teams who chase have won, with the exception of the first game, which was cut short by weather. Given the likelihood of rain on Sunday, that might be the best course of action. The temperature will be in the late 20s and early 30s, and it will be humid.
