Roughly around the time when India were toying with Australian bowlers in the death overs of a T20I in Trivandrum on Sunday, the average Indian cricket fan was engaged elsewhere. A bombshell of an IPL trade was in the works that comfortably dragged eyeballs away from the actual cricket action which, ironically enough, had some of the IPL regulars showing their readiness for a permanent step up.
It’s been an intriguing week, if you’re an Indian cricket fan. A World Cup trophy that looked destined to be India’s third in the 50-over format took a last-minute detour to become Australia’s sixth. A cynic would conclude that the big, juicy IPL development is like a distraction from the national team’s trip up on the big day, but the international cricket that has happened – in Trivandrum and Vizag – since that fateful Sunday is anything but that.
There is barely any time for India – and every other country not named Australia – to brood over their World Cup performance, for another is coming in less than seven months. Tuesday’s game will be India’s third out of just 11 they play in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup next June in the USA and West Indies.
Australia might still have a post-World Cup win glow about them but next year’s tournament holds a lot of value to them too. In 2021, they ended their World Cup drought in this format but failed to make the semis in the very next year. The 2024 event is thus, another chance to populate this section of their trophy cabinet that looks rather barren in comparison to the rest. But the start towards that mission has been rather shaky so far, with two defeats in two while both setting a target and chasing. They’ve of course only eased a couple of their World Cup regulars slowly back into action, while a few other stalwarts like Warner, Cummins, Starc, Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh have taken a well-deserved break.
They were still competitive enough to push a dominant Indian side deep in one of the two games, and will be eager to go a notch further and drag this series beyond Tuesday’s third fixture. For India, who are also without a few of their big names, the eyes must twinkle at the sight and thought of an early series sweep.
When: India vs Australia, 3rd T20I, Tuesday, 28 November 2023, 7:00pm local
Where: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
What to expect: A humid evening is on the cards. In terms of conditions, there’s lesser clarity as the two other T20Is at the venue played out in extremely contrasting fashion. In 2017, India lost a low-scorer where they were bowled out for 118 batting first against Australia. In 2022, they amassed 237 against South Africa, which the visitors almost chased down courtesy a 47-ball 106* from David Miller.
Team News
India
The hosts went unchanged in the Trivandrum, and are likely to stick to that idea in Guwahati too in their bid to wrap up the five-match series early. Opportunities can then come in the last couple of games.
Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna
Australia
With pacers fairing better at this venue, Jason Behrendorff could be back. The last time Australia played here – in 2017 – he finished with figures of 4 for 21 that set up the visitors’ big win.
Probable XI: Matthew Short, Steven Smith, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w/c), Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff/Tanveer Sangha
Did you know?
– Rinku Singh’s devastating form is not new. Before his 22 (14) and 31* (9), he flexed his big-hitting muscles at the domestic level – hitting 256 runs in 7 innings at a strike rate of 170.66 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
– Leading up to this series, Adam Zampa had picked 12 wickets in 14 T20Is against India. The Indian batters managed to keep him wicketless in the Trivandrum fixture
What they said:
“When I saw Rinku come in to bat [in the first T20I], the composure he showed was brilliant. It reminded me of someone (laughs). Everyone knows the answer(laughs again).” – Suryakumar Yadav on Rinku Singh’sfinishing exploits
