ICC T20 Standings – India vs Australia T20 Series: Aaron Finch’s Australia will have a golden opportunity to regain the number one spot in the world when they take on Virat Kohli’s India at Manuka Oval, Canberra on Friday. The men from Down Under are just one victory away to return to the top of the ICC T20 team ranking list.
England is currently ranked No. 1 in the game’s shortest format with 275 rating points from 25 matches. Australia also have the same ranking points in 22 games, but are further behind in total points. While the Three Lions have 6,877 points, the Kangaroos have 6,047 points.
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Meanwhile, India also has a chance to climb the rankings.
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Team India is currently at No. 2 with 266 rating points from 35 games. If the Virat Kohl-men want to become No. 2, they will have to sweep the three-game T20 series. Interestingly, they have a great opportunity to do so.
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In the absence of resources in ODI, India will have enough options to choose from to pose a tougher challenge to Australia.
The 1-2 loss in the ODI series reaffirmed that India has a lot of work to do in the 50+ format, but they have a much more balanced squad in the shorter format.
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Before the pandemic suspended sporting activities around the world, India had blanked host New Zealand in a five-game series and they will take a lot of confidence out of that result in the match against Australia.
The presence of Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar and T Natarajan, who did well in their ODI debut on Wednesday, brings a much-needed balance to the bowling department.
Yorker specialist Natarajan, who was a late addition to the ODI squad, could also make his T20 debut on Friday after showing enough promise in his first international appearance.
Skipper Kohli looked in good touch in ODIs and his goal will be to take advantage of that, while number four Shreyas Iyer will aim for great scores from great starts as he did in the previous three-game series.
Australia, after naming the same team to ODI and T20, would be backing themselves to beat India after a clinical display for the past week despite injury concerns.
Star hitter David Warner is unavailable due to a groin injury and it remains to be seen if Marnus Labuschagne joins captain Aaron Finch on Friday as they both did one night ago.
Marcus Stoinis would have been another good opening option with Finch, but he too is a dubious starter due to a side injury he sustained during the ODI.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, who rested Wednesday, are expected to return to reinforce the attack.
Ind vs Aus Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (Vice Captain and Goalkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (Goalkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan.
Australia: Aaron Finch (C), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (VC), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis , Matthew Wade, A’Arcy Short, Adam Zampa.
