In the first T20I match against Team India, Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Manuka Oval.
Team India has received a big blow for the first three T20I matches, as all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out. He has sustained a strain in his left quadriceps during the concluded ODI series and is still in the process of recovery.
The “Men in Blue” have decided to go with two pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana. Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy will lead India`s spin attack.
So far, both teams have clashed against each other in 32 T20I matches, and India has the upper hand in the rivalry. The “Men in Blue” are leading the chart with 20 wins, whereas the Aussies have registered 11 victories. One match between the teams ended in a no result.
As the match proceeds, India`s swashbuckling batsman Abhishek Sharma will be looking to achieve the feat of completing 1000 runs in the shortest format of the game. He is falling short of 151 runs to accomplish the feat.
So far, he has scored 849 runs in 23 T20I innings. If he manages to score 151 runs in the next three innings, he would be joining Indian legend Virat Kohli as the joint-fastest to 1,000 T20I runs.
On the other hand, Tilak Varma is 38 runs shy of reaching the 1000-run mark in the format. Having played 32 T20I matches so far for Team India, the Hyderabad-born cricketer has accumulated 962 runs.
Earlier, the visitors suffered a loss by 1-2 in the three-match ODI series. They will be eager to clinch the T20I series, as the contest will serve as a preparatory series for the T20 World Cup 2026.
IND vs AUS 1st T20I: Confirmed Playing XI
India`s XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia`s XI: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.