Nagpur: The second match of the Twenty20 cricket series between India and Australia will be played today. The match will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamta from 7 pm onwards.
There is concern that rain will threaten the competition. It was raining in the city last night and day. Due to the rain, the training was also stopped. The weather report says that there will be rain during the match. Tickets for the 45,000-capacity stadium were mostly sold out minutes following they went online.
The Indian and Australian teams reached Nagpur on Wednesday evening. Jamta Stadium is 20 km away from Nagpur city. The international competition is being held here following a gap of three years.
Twenty20 between India and Bangladesh was held in 2019. Deepak Chahar had a career-best performance (seven runs and six wickets) that day. The pitch favors the bowlers. Batting first in the 12 T20s played here, the average for the team is 151 runs. The team that batted first won nine times.
It is indicated that Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who disappointed in the first Twenty20, will continue today. In Mohali, Bhuvi gave away 52 runs in four overs. Bhuvi’s overs are also the reason for India’s defeat. Australia won the first match by four wickets. Batting first, India scored 208 runs for the loss of six wickets. Australia batted in reply and scored the winning run with only four balls to go. Jaspreet Bumrah is expected to replace Umesh Yadav. Veteran off-spinner R. Ashwin is likely to be replaced by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is fighting to maintain his position as the top scorer in Twenty20. Rohit currently has 3631 runs. Former skipper Virat Kohli (3586) is only 45 runs behind in second place.
Aussie’s Josh Hazlewood will complete 50 wickets in Twenty20 if he dismisses two men today. Today will be Hazlewood’s 32nd Twenty20. There is no chance of a change in the Aussie team. Kane Richardson, who is out due to injury, has not recovered his fitness. Sean Abbott may play if Hazlewood or Pat Cummins are rested.
Probable Team: India – Rohit Sharma (captain), Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Akshar Patel, Harshal Patel, P Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaspreet Bumrah/ Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal/ R. Ashwin.
Probable Squad: Australia- Aaron Finch (captain), Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Tim David, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Hazlewood.
