MS Dhoni will have fond memories of the ground as he scored his maiden one-day international century (148) in 2005. (Source: Instagram)India beat Australia in their own den to register their first ever Test series victory Down and Under and then went to secure back-to-back one-day international (ODI) series victories against Australia and New Zealand. However, the same cannot be said about the men in blue in the shortest format. Their tour Down Under started with a 1-1 draw in the T20I series and then they lost a three-match T20I rubber against New Zealand. However, both those results mattered little for India in the face of their success in the longer format.
Belting it at the nets @msdhoni 💥💥🔥👌🏻 #TeamIndia @Paytm #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/hRDZUE5MvX
— BCCI (@BCCI) 23 February 2019
Likewise, the two-match T20I series that starts on Sunday could be a testing ground for some players to make their name ahead of the World Cup that starts on May 30. For the embattled Australians though, this is a fine opportunity to get some game time ahead of the World Cup.
Team News-
Skipper Virat Kohli and seamer Jasprit Bumrah are back after a well-deserved break. KL Rahul also makes a comeback to the Indian squad. But the cynosure of all eyes will be on Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar, who are tipped to make it in the 15-man squad.
India suffered a blow with just three days left for the series with an injury to all-rounder Hardik Pandya on Thursday. Padya is ruled out of the entire series and has been replaced with Ravindra Jadeja.
Depart ✈
Arrive 🛬
Train & sweat it out 💪🏻💪🏻#TeamIndia gear up for the 1st T20I in Vizag #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/Qv5tbFTQpw— BCCI (@BCCI) 22 February 2019
For Vijay Shankar, it will be a great opportunity to make his case even stronger in the absence of Hardik Pandya, who is out with his recurring lower back injury.
Australia on the other side have recalled a few in-form players who proved their mettle in the Big Bash League. D’Arcy Short and Kane Richardson, two players who had a brilliant season is back in the side and will be keen to cement their place in Australia’s World Cup squad.
D’Arcy Short who scored more than 600 runs in the recently concluded Big Bash League (BBL) and leading wicket-taker Kane Richardson (24 wickets) will be the ones to watch out for. Marcus Stoinis is another player singled out by Kohli who could make a difference.
India may be ahead 11-6 on head-to-head in T20s but they have drawn 1-1 their last two series against Australia at home (2017) and away (2018).
It was way back in 2016 when India under MS Dhoni last won against Australia, a 3-0 clean sweep Down Under as this time Kohli’s men will look to settle the scores.
Pitch Report:
The ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vizag hosted its first ODI way back in 2005 when India beat Pakistan and MS Dhoni scored his maiden one-day international century (148). After hosting its first Test in November 2016, it went on to host its first T20I in February 2016 where India and Sri Lanka played in a low-scoring encounter. R Ashwin took 4 wickets for 8 runs in his 4-over spell as Sri Lanka could only score 83. However, this time around a run feast could be on the cards as the pitch bears a harder look.
Squads-
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mayank Markande.
Australia: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa.
