Rain played spoilsport as the first T20I between India and Australia was called off due to rain.
The first T20I between India and Australia have been called off due to rain. Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Notably, it was Abhishek Sharma’s first T20I match against the Kangaroos, and the youngster failed to live up to the expectations, having scored 19 runs off 14 balls.
After his departure, Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav took over the responsibility and played some sensational cricket. The captain, who was under a lot of scrutiny over his form, proved his mettle in the middle, scoring an unbeaten 39 runs off 24 balls. Gill, on the other hand, scored an unbeaten 37 runs off 20 balls as India were 97/1 in 9.4 overs, before the rain played a spoilsport for the second time.
Soon after that, the umpires informed that India will not bat again and if and when the match resumes, Australia will start the chase, and a target will be set as per the DLS method. However, the match could never start again as the rain only got heavier.
India’s changes and updates
From the squad that won the Asia Cup against Pakistan in September, India made just one change, as Harshit Rana replaced Rinku Singh. The idea behind the move was the play an extra seamer in pace-friendly conditions. However, benching Arshdeep Singh invited some flak for the team management on social media, as the southpaw is the leading wicket-taker of India in T20Is.
On the other hand, Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the first three T20Is, owing to a left quadriceps injury sustained during the second ODI in Adelaide.
Australia (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
