All to play for as India, Australia lock horns in Bengaluru

Wednesday, 27 February 2019 00:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

After conceding the first Twenty20 International to Australia by three wickets, India will be keen to hit back in the second and final game.

Having won three and lost two T20Is at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, India do not have the most dominant record at Bengaluru. However, they will draw confidence from the fact that the two victories have come in their last two fixtures at the venue.

Virat Kohli, who also leads the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, will go into Wednesday with heaps of T20 experience at this venue. Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav and Lokesh Rahul – who scored a fluent 36-ball 50 in the first game – will also take the field with a similar sense of familiarity.

The home side endured a batting collapse in the first game, slipping from 69/2 to 109/7. None of the batsmen apart from Rahul crossed 50, while only Kohli and MS Dhoni managed to enter the 20s. The men in blue will be desperate to put on a better show with the bat in the second game in a bid to level the two-match series.

Kohli will be pleased with the effort from his bowlers in Visakhapatnam, where they almost defended a total of 127. Jasprit Bumrah, in particular, was in sublime form, returning 3/16 in four overs. Debutant Mayank Markande, as well as Krunal Pandya, brought their IPL experience to the fore to deliver reasonably impressive performances with the ball. Australia will be keen to cash in on their winning momentum and claim the T20I series. It has been over a year since they last won a white-ball series of more than one game, and winning against India in India will be a huge morale boost, especially ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.

The visitors, too, will want a repeat of their performance with the ball while hoping for an improvement on the batting front. Nathan Coulter-Nile was the most impressive bowler and was adjudged Player of the Match for his three-wicket haul.

Australia were in complete command in the first 15 overs of their chase, but capitulated after D’Arcy Short’s wicket. The middle order will be expected to pull its weight and skipper Aaron Finch will be desperate to put an end to his poor run of form against India: 0, 14, 6, 6 in four innings.