Australia's Tour Of India, 2nd T20I: Three IND Vs AUS Key Battles To Watch Out For

In the Visakhapatnam series opener, India registered a thrilling two-wicket win over Australia. Now, the caravan will move to Thiruvananthapuram where the Suryakumar Yadav-led young Indian side will take on ODI world champions Australia on Sunday. The second T20I of the five-match series will be played at Greenfield International Stadium. (Match Blog | Scorecard | Streaming | Full Coverage)

Despite fielding a young and inexperienced team, India did well to win the crunch game with the stand-in captain leading by example. Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings with vice-captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who guided India to the Asian Games 2023 gold medal. For the visitors, wicket-keeper batter Matthew Wade is the designated captain.

The Men in Blue chased down a target of 209 runs in the first T20I with the help of Suryakumar Yadav's 80-run knock off just 42 balls and his 112-run stand with Ishan Kishan for the third wicket. This was India's highest-ever run chase in T20Is. Guided by Josh Inglis' maiden T20I century, Australia dominated in the first half of the match and scored 208/3.

Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie, who replaced David Warner in the team, was used neither in bowling nor batting during the first T20I. Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna and spinner Ravi Bishnoi proved to be very expensive conceding 50 and 54 runs, respectively, in their quota of four overs. But it was Mukesh Kumar who stole the show with the ball. The newbie was wicketless but he restricted the  Aussie innings to 208 with a brilliant final over.

Here are the three key battles to look out for in the IND vs AUS, 2nd T20I:

Jason Behrendorff Vs Yashasvi Jaiswal

Jason Behrendorff is the front-line pace bowler of this Australian attack. He failed to make the cut for the ODI Cricket World Cup but his inclusion in the shortest format has given an extra dimension to the Aussie attack. Yashasvi Jaiswal is given the green light to play freely by the captain and he showed a trailer of that in the first match. The Indian opener started the attack from the first ball and made 21 runs in eight balls with two sixes and as many fours. Behrendorff bowls in the early overs and an attack-minded Jaiswal will look to take on the Aussie quick.

Rinku Singh Vs Nathan Ellis

Rinku Singh is the new finisher of India in the shortest format and he showed why he has so much credibility in the first T20I. When one run was needed in one ball, he chose the aerial route and hit a six. However, that six was not counted in the scorebooks as it was a no-ball from Sean Abbott. Rinku remained unbeaten on 22 off 14 and helped India win the nail-biter. After being proven expensive in the first three overs, Nathan Ellis bowled a brilliant 19th over to keep Australia in the game. He is a death overs specialist and could contest with Rinku again in the second T20I.

Josh Inglis Vs Mukesh Kumar

Josh Inglis hit his maiden T20I century, 110 runs off 50 balls, against India in the first match in Visakhapatnam. His thunderous knock had 11 fours and eight sixes. The confidence shown in the wicketkeeper-batter during the ODI World Cup is giving results. Mukesh Kumar bowled an economical spell in the first T20I. When other bowlers were getting bashed, Kumar bowled with tight lengths and kept the pace mix-ups in his deliveries. The right-arm seamer conceded only 29 runs, including five in the final over. This battle between Inglis and Kumar would be a treat for the fans since one is a dashing hitter of the ball and the other knows how to dictate the terms in the middle overs with the ball.

India vs Australia T20I series: Squads

India (IND): Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer (last two matches only)

Australia (AUS): Matthew Wade (c), Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa