India plans to conclude the series early as teams travel from the southwest of the nation to Guwahati in the east, needing less than 48 hours to complete the journey.

Overview: India eyes the early series finale

It’s probably not shocking that India are almost done with the series given the strange scheduling of this series against a team that features a core of worn-out players from an ODI World Cup-winning group.

India are a new team going into the World Cup, and they’ve relished playing under the aggressive captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav. However, the first two matches were largely competitive, which is a credit to Australia’s depth and a hotly fought rivalry that nearly always ends well.

Australia’s chances of winning the series are in doubt as they prepare to travel from the southwest region of the nation to Guwahati in the east in less than 48 hours. Australia looked lethargic in a 44-run loss in the second Twenty20 International.

It will be important for Australia to make adjustments to their lineups and tactics in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, which is in less than six months. Notably, 22-year-old legspinner Tanveer Sangha has displayed bravery when big-hitting in challenging conditions. In Thiruvananthapuram, Tim David unleashed a tornado, which was encouraging for a squad in need of a finisher.

With a new-look squad that successfully built on a tight series-opening victory, India is enjoying a tonic as the World Cup fades and the IPL 2024 trade flurry picks up steam. Before Rinku Singh took over in the final overs of the innings, all four of their best batsmen had already scored half-centuries in the series, demonstrating how thrilling their batting has been. Although their bowlers have had a harder task, India has shown urgency in the field under the dynamic Suryakumar.

They’ll be hoping to build on their successful T20 World Cup preparations thus far.

Form handbook

Australia LLWWW (last five games played, starting with the most recent)
India World War II

 

Highlighted: Steven Smith and Rinku Singh

Rinku Singh has unavoidably brought to mind the great MS Dhoni because of his influence at the death, where he is striking at 230 without being dismissed in the series. Naturally, the comparison gives the impression that Rinku is in the dark, yet in two distinct scenarios, he has shown no signs of fear. He scored a cool 22 off 14 balls in the opening game to help his side cross the finish line. He then blasted 31 off 9 balls in the second game as India was teeing off after batting first. It will be interesting to watch how he handles the mounting pressure.

Steven Smith has been back at training, eager to establish himself as an opener, while many of his World Cup-winning teammates have gone home for a break. Smith has his sights set on being the Sydney Sixers’ opener for the T20 World Cup ever since he scored two vicious hundreds in the BBL last season. Before being entirely eclipsed by centurion Josh Inglis in his final eight deliveries, he got off to a strong start in Visakhapatnam, scoring three boundaries. Smith did end up scoring 52 off of 41 balls, but he did not spend much time in the second game. Smith will want to make his last innings of the series count if there is any truth to the rumors that he might head home after game three.

Australia is considering calling back Behrendorff.

India is unlikely to alter their strategy now that they have the opportunity to win the series. Ishan Kishan, who was unexpectedly selected at No. 3 rather than to open, has performed admirably with back-to-back half-centuries. Even though spinners Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi performed admirably in the second Twenty20 International, Shivam Dube might be a viable alternative if things swing in his favour. Arshdeep Singh, a left-arm fast who has only taken one wicket for 87 in eight overs, may be forced out.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, and India (probably) Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, and Arshdeep Singh are the next six.

Australia did not include left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff, who bowled 1 for 25 in the face of a barrage and was their best bowler in Visakhapatnam. Aiming for the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies next year, where slower pitches are anticipated, they fielded legspinners Adam Zampa and Sangha in tandem. Seamer Sean Abbott, who was hammered for 56 runs in three overs at Thiruvananthapuram, might be replaced by Behrendorff if Australia decides to field the spin pair. In the first game, he returned 1 for 43 off 3.5 overs, and in what turned out to be a no-ball, Rinku hit him for a last-ball six.

Australia (likely): 1 Glenn Maxwell, 2 Steven Smith, 3 Josh Inglis, and 2 Matthew Short 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David 7 (capt, wk) Matthew Wade 8 Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, 9, 10 Tanveer Sangha, 11 Jason Behrendorff/Sean Abbott

Pitch and circumstances

There have only been three T20Is at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium before, one of which was a rain-related abandonment of an India vs. Sri Lanka match in January 2020. The two games that were played were diametrically opposed. In 2017, Australia triumphed by eight wickets after Behrendorff used swing bowling on a sticky ground to smash India’s top order. Five years later, India scored 458 runs in total to defeat South Africa by 16 runs.

Although rain is not predicted, Tuesday is predicted to be humid, with dew possibly having an impact on the game.

Statistics and trivia

• Australia’s previous three-match losing streak in Twenty20 Internationals occurred during a four-match losing run against Bangladesh and the West Indies in July and August of 2021.
• In the second Twenty20 International, Rinku achieved the highest strike rate of any batter in an India-Australian match with 344. When Shikhar Dhawan hit 26 off of nine balls at the SCG in 2016, that record stood at 288.88.
• Sixty runs separate Suryakumar Yadav from being the fourth Indian player to score 2000 T20I runs.

Sayings

Looking at Steve [Smith] up top was one of the things we planned to do going into this series. And occasionally, we’ve had the opportunity to do that. We are really pleased with the intent he shown with the bat.
Andre Borovec, the temporary coach of Australia, is pleased with Smith’s start