With the first T20 about to commence between India and Australia, the stakes are high for both these proud teams.
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While they are jostling to be number one position in the ODI rankings, both sides are floundering around the middle of the rankings charts when it come to T20s.
India look the team to beat at the moment, as Virat Kohli has managed to forge a supreme outfit that can beat anyone in any condition.
Australia on the other hand have problems galore, as they seek to re-discover their killer touch. While their bowling looks to be in decent shape, it is their batting that has been disappointing in the recently concluded ODI series.
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Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell in particular have been well short of expectations as only David Warner managed to put on the type of performances that were expected of these batting superstars.
Now with Smith having been ruled out of the T20 series with a shoulder injury, even more responsibility would fall on David Warner as he tries to lift his nation against the rampant Indians.
India have had a good record over the Aussies in T20s, having won 9 of the 16 T20s played between the two nations. More over, India have won the last 6 matches which is why the scales are tipped in their favour for this one.
Kohli would look to get into the runs himself in this series, as he had a below par ODI one against his favourite opposition.
Rohit Sharma on the other hand will be glad to know that there are three more matches in which he can further boost his already impressive record against the Aussies.
PREDICTED LINEUPS:
India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Australia: David Warner (c), Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis
