AUSTRALIA TOUR OF INDIA, 2020-21
Matthew Wade will once again lead the local team © AFP
Around noon on Monday (December 7), Jasprit Bumrah and Mayank Agarwal arrived at Drummoyne Oval via a net. After greeting the support staff and some of their busy teammates with the preparation game against Australia A, the duo headed straight for there, located at the rear of the picturesque venue, parallel to the pristine Parramatta River.
It was an intense pink ball session between the two in which Bumrah appeared to beat Agarwal with a very incisive spell on a spicy field. The first match of the test also saw many other challenging fights against players such as Raghu, Nuwan Seneviratne, and hitting coach Vikram Rathour, each armed with a new pink ball. He had some trouble negotiating with the balls that jumped a bit, even getting a little angry at himself at times. But it held its own, just as India would hope it would when they arrive at the Adelaide Oval on December 17.
Of course, this was just the first of many practice sessions for the Indian Test players as they prepare for the high-profile series that will begin in 10 days. Seeing Bumrah and Agarwal locked in battle with a pink ball was also a sign that the India tour group had more or less passed the white ball segment of their Australian tour. And why not.
After all, they have given themselves that license following their convincing win at the SCG on Sunday (December 6) sealing the T20I series in the same way the Australians had done the ODIs last week. This is not to say that the third and final Q20 on Tuesday (December 8) is less important. A win will extend their world record streak of consecutive wins in the format to 11 and also ensure that they remain undefeated in T20I for 2020, which is sure to have a nice flashback ring.
Tuesday’s match is also a significant moment for Australia as a country in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be the first time that a stadium or any prominent venue will host a 100 percent capacity crowd and tickets have been selling above the charts since the New South Wales government recently announced the new freedom protocols. . And dead rubber or not, the SCG will be covered in a veritable sea of blue. The parking lots on both sides of Driver Avenue were full of vehicular activity even on Sunday and everything is set to get a lot crazier for the last day of this first leg of the tour.
It will also potentially be the last chance for the new legion of Hardik Pandya fans across the country, regardless of his background or background, to see him this summer unless they hold him for testing. The all-rounder, who has become a cerebral spiker with the bat in the past 10 days, has matched, if not exceeded, the anticipation and excitement that follows Virat Kohli’s arrival at the fold. And while some of the other high-profile members in the squad, such as Bumrah and Agarwal, might have moved to other pastures, Pandya will consider the SCG once again as his stage to unleash a display of his unique power play. Because Pandya is not done yet. And neither is the impressive T Natarajan, whose shares have risen dramatically in recent days.
When: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 19:10 local time, 1:40 IST
Where: Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)
What to expect: Sydney will be hit by a cold snap coming from the western part of the country. And players will feel the chill as they walk into the SCG center on Tuesday night. Expect to see some of them in jumpers, and maybe even some hand warmers in their pocket, like with Kohli in Canberra. The action should return to the most central field in the plaza, which should eliminate the short-limit dilemma that both hitting and bowling teams have to deal with, unless of course you have Hardik Pandya on strike. .
Team news
Australia:Matthew Wade’s sensational story from Australian cricket nearly leaving him to graze to being named Australian captain of the T20I will continue as he is set to lead the home team again. Australia have more or less tried all of their options and with the series now lost, they also won’t want their test players to spend an additional 3½ hours on the field so close to the opener in Adelaide. Steve Smith figured he’d want to keep playing while the only question would be whether to stick with D’Arcy Short or bring Alex Carey back, which would lead to a pretty interesting starting pair of two goalkeepers.
Possible XI: Matthew Wade (c & wk), D’Arcy Short / Alex Carey, Steve Smith, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Sams, Andrew Tye, Mitchell Swepson, Adam Zampa.
India:Bumrah and Agarwal are expected to have already finished with the T20I series, as is Mohammed Shami. And I would expect India to stick to its winning combination Sunday even if Manish Pandey gets in shape. Despite all of Pandya’s heroics, it was Shreyas Iyer’s six and four against miser Adam Zampa that changed the game in a big way during the second match. And he should keep his place on the team.
Possible XI: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul (week), Virat Kohli (c), Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan, Yuzvendra Chahal.
© Cricbuzz
