India and Australia kicked off their five-match T20 series with a thriller on Friday morning in which the home side triumphed on the last ball at Visakhapatnam.
Fringe players from both sides are looking to press their case for future selection in this series, so expect another high-octane contest in the second encounter on Sunday night.
Check out our preview and best bets below before the first ball is bowled at 12:30am (AEDT) Monday in Kerala.
India vs Australia 2nd T20 Preview & Betting Tips
Kerala, Monday 27th November, 12:30pm (AEDT)
India achieved some form of World Cup revenge on Thursday night, defeating Australia by two wickets in a nail-biting victory.
The bowlers struggled to make any inroads, conceding 3/208 to Australia’s talented top order.
However, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, two of just four World Cup squad members retained for this series, came to the rescue with the bat.
Captaining the side, Yadav bounced back from an underwhelming innings in the World Cup Final to blast 80 off 42 balls, while Kishan belted five maximums on his way to 58 off 39.
With the game under control, everything came undone in the final over – three consecutive wickets fell leaving India requiring a single off the final ball. Rinku Singh made sure of the victory, hitting the final ball for six to seal an entertaining win.
Given the impotence of the bowlers, I expect some rotations for this second fixture, and indeed the rest of the games as both teams experiment.
Suryakumar and Kishan are likely to be regular fixtures though, as they bring much needed class to the batting group
India Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer
Australia’s ‘B Team’ produced a decent showing first up, falling just short of victory despite the individual brilliance of Josh Inglis.
The wicketkeeper-batsman produced his maiden international T20 ton, hitting 110 off 50 balls including eight sixes as Australia motored to 3/208.
Slotting in as an opener, Steve Smith also made a valuable contribution with 52, leaving the middle order with little work to do.
With the ball, just about everyone struggled bar Jason Behrendorff, who took 1/25 in an economical display. Every other bowler went for more than 10 runs per over, leaving plenty of work to do for the remainder of the series.
It will be interesting to see when World Cup stars Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa are brought back into the XI, as the addition of those men could really tip this series in Australia’s favour.
Like India, I have no doubt that each member of the squad will see gametime at some point during this series.
Australia Squad: Matthew Wade (c), Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa
I was hot on Australia heading into the first game and that hasn’t changed despite the result on Thursday night. India will be heavily reliant on Yadav and Kishan to score the bulk of the runs, while I believe Australia have a more rounded XI with weapons across the board. It’s clear that bowling will be a weakness for both teams, but I’m backing Australia to level the series on Sunday night, especially if any big names return.
Player Prop Quick Tips
Player to Take 1+ Wickets: Marcus Stoinis - $1.80 (Ladbrokes) – After bowling three overs in the first fixture, it seems as though Stoinis is being treated as the fifth bowling option in this series. That makes the burly quick great value in the wicket-taker markets, as he is paying more than any other bowler by a considerable margin.
India Top Runscorer: Suryakumar Yadav - $4 (Ladbrokes) – Yadav topped the runscorers for India on Sunday with a blistering 80, and I can see that trend continuing. SKY is the top ranked, most experienced batter in the Indian lineup, and he will be hoping to lead from the front as captain.
