Rain could play spoilsport in Brisbane, with likelihood of thunderstorms
Gabba pitch expected to offer enough pace and bounce for seamers
India could inflict fourth consecutive T20I bilateral series defeat on Australia with win
Much will be at stake when India and Australia come up against each other in the fifth and final T20I of the series on Saturday, November 8th in Brisbane. India have taken a 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series after they won the 4th match by 48 runs, and thus maintained their unblemished record of not losing a bilateral T20I series in Australia.
On the other hand, Australia will play to level the series at 2-2 and save themselves from losing a fourth consecutive T20I bilateral series against India at home. In the absence of Josh Hazlewood, it won’t be easy for the young and dynamic Australian team to take on India’s spin challenge, which proved to be a herculean task in the last T20I at Gold Coast.
The spin trio of Varun Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar has had the upper hand over the Aussie batters so far in the series and how they fare against the spin challenge at the Gabba is something fans will be looking forward to in the 5th T20I.
India Vs Australia, 5th T20I: Brisbane Weather Report
According to AccuWeather, rain in Brisbane on Saturday could play spoilsport in the match. There is a 79% chance of precipitation and a 99% chance of cloud cover. There are also predictions of thunderstorms in some areas of Brisbane in the afternoon, however by night the chances of thunderstorms go down to 23%.
India Vs Australia, 5th T20I: Gabba Pitch Report
The pitch at the Gabba in Brisbane is one of the bounciest pitches in Australia and is known for its true nature. The pacers get good carry and the ball can move too, if the weather conditions allow.
On the other hand, batters who play well on the backfoot enjoy playing here as the bounce of the wicket can be their friend too and the ball could fly off their bats if they apply themselves.
There won’t be much turn or grip for the spinners much like most Australian pitches, however spinners with the assistance of immaculate length, good bounce and big boundaries could get wickets.
Records on this ground favour teams batting first as they have won 8 out of the 11 games played so far. The average first and second innings score on this pitch are 159 and 138 runs respectively.
India Vs Australia, 5th T20I: Squads
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa, Marcus Stoinis.
