ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

In Stats: India Eye Series Win, Aus Seek Redemption in Guwahati

India play Australia in the second T20 at Guwahati on Tuesday.

Updated
Cricket
3 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female

The Australian team have to win the first-ever T20 international that will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati if they are to stay alive in the three-match T20I series against India.

The visitors, who lost the ODI series 1-4, also lost the first T20I at Ranchi; after a below-par performance batting first, they were blown away by the Indian batsmen in the rain-curtailed chase. Australia’s defeat – by 9 wickets – in that curtailed chase was the biggest margin by which they had been beaten in a T20I.

India play Australia in the second T20 at Guwahati on Tuesday.
(Gfx: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)
ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

The Indian team has an outstanding record in T20Is against Australia, and they will not only look to improve upon those stunning numbers but also clinch the series on Tuesday itself. The Indian team are now undefeated in their last 7 T20 Internationals against Australia.

India play Australia in the second T20 at Guwahati on Tuesday.
(Gfx: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)
0

There is plenty of incentive for Team India. ‘Mission 111’, as the host broadcaster of Indian Cricket is calling it, there is the opportunity for the Indian team to top the rankings in all the three formats. They are currently ranked number one in Tests and ODIs, and winning this series will take them closer to topping the T20I rankings and accomplishing Mission 111.

Australia’s Woes Start With Selection and Trickle Down

It is saying the obvious, but Australia’s problems begins with their selections. While allowing for injured players and the accepted player turnover, one wonders if the Australian selectors are guilty of not taking T20 Internationals too seriously. How else does one explain them handing out so many caps in the last few years?

Since 2013, Australia have played 36 T20Is; in these matches, they have handed 29 debuts and have used a total of 56 different players!

India play Australia in the second T20 at Guwahati on Tuesday.
(Gfx: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)
ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Australia are ranked 4th in Test cricket, 3rd in ODIs, but a lowly 7th in T20Is. Cricket Australia needs to chalk out a plan where every stakeholder approaches T20Is just as seriously as Test cricket & ODIs.

Where the current touring T20 side is concerned, it is perhaps the weakest-ever Australian team that has arrived in India for a competition. Yes, there are a couple of players of repute, but there are very few names in the team list over whom players in the Indian camp will lose sleep over. David Warner and Aaron Finch are among the best in business – but beyond that, there is very little bite in the batting line-up. The middle order batting has been found wanting against spin time and again on this tour of India. Even in the first T20I, it was Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav who strangled Australia in the middle overs.

India play Australia in the second T20 at Guwahati on Tuesday.
(Gfx: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

Will the Australian side find inspiration from somewhere to stop this ruthless Indian side? Or will Team India cruise on to make it 8 consecutive wins against Australia? Will Team India clinch yet another series under Virat Kohli as captain? Will Virat Kohli be able to climb to second place in the list of top run-getters in T20Is? Follow live updates from the 2nd T20I on our live blog. Match begins at 1900Hrs local time.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from sports and cricket

Published: 
Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×