India arrive in Australia with perhaps their best ever shot at completing a bilateral clean sweep across all three formats.
Australia are up against it in all formats, but have been especially poor in white-ball cricket in 2018.
Australia vs India | Wednesday, 21 November | The Gabba, Brisbane | 11:00
To Win Match
Australia 21/20
Tie 35/1
India 82/100
Australia
Despite their troubles in the format, Australia have picked a small squad for the three T20Is against India, backing many of the same names who have struggled all season long. Batting will be the biggest concern for the hosts, who have a myriad of top-order problems.
D’arcy Short has misfired consistently whether opening or batting down the order – and poor Ben McDermott can’t seem to stop running himself out, but Justin Langer feels his batsmen will come good.
Nathan Coulter-Nile was the standout performer against South Africa in a group that played abominably against their fierce rivals. He showed signs of developing into a genuine all-rounder and bowled well too.
Jason Behrendorff makes his return from injury to further cloud Australia’s plans for the World Cup, while none of the Test quicks will feature in the shortest format.
India
Virat Kohli returns to skipper a side that could probably field a third-string team and still expect to triumph over Australia. The captain sat out of India’s T20Is against the West Indies, with Rohit Sharma leading the team to a clean sweep over the men from the Caribbean.
Kohli forms the spine of a potent batting line-up, fronted by Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan, who can take the game away from opponents in a hurry, especially in the powerplay.
Khaleel Ahmed has been afforded an extended run in the team with a view to testing his suitability for a World Cup role. Khaleel has bowled brilliantly – and almost warrants being picked ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Jasprit Bumrah on recent form.
After Krunal Pandya’s exploits in the last two Indian Premier Leagues, India will be eager to see if he can fill the finisher role with the bat and do a job for them with the ball, should his brother Hardik not be around.
Verdict: India 82/100
In this format, beating India would be a tough ask even if Australia were playing well. As it stands, Kohli’s men would need to completely implode to suffer defeat.
