Settling with the recent result in Visakhapatnam, Australia is timely boosted following a poor show, of late at home against India. Their resurgence might be a good sign, but India on the other side in itself has been a dominant force to stay at the No.2 on ICC Twenty20 International Team Rankings. Here we’re with the match preview for the much-awaited T20I contest.
With the nail-biting three-wicket win over Men in Blue, the yellow brigade has a bright chance to register two-match T20 series win. The recent all-round show is the indicator that the Aussie team has regrouped to tackle one of the exceptional teams at their backyard.
In the series opener which witnessed a low-scoring thriller, Indian batsmen failed to provide an impetus while taking out KL Rahul, who scored a brilliant half-century with the help of four boundaries and a maximum.
On the other hand, skipper Virat Kohli scored 24 off 17 before perishing on the bowling of leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
Apart from it, MS Dhoni on a sluggish-looking surface could find enough to score runs at a brisk pace.
Dhoni remained unbeaten on 37-ball 29 with the help of a solitary four.
With a rare batting failure, India team management has been keen to iron out the flaws ahead of the 2019 World. The hosts managed just 126 for seven in the first innings.
For Australia, there was almost the same storyline for the batters apart from the half-century from Glenn Maxwell.
Of late, Maxwell who has been struggling with the bat, was the top-scorer with 46-ball 56. Opening batsman D’Arcy Shot steadied the ship when Australia were five for two in 2.1 overs.
However, their bowlers have bowled their heart out thanks to Nathan Coulter-Nile, who bagged three wickets while giving away 26 runs in four overs.
Similarly, Jasprit Bumrah shone on his return by claiming three wickets in his four overs. He conceded only 16 runs which included the penultimate over in which he bagged two wickets by giving away as many runs.
With a couple of mistakes costing a low-scoring thriller to India, they would be keen to put up a grand show.
Date & Venue: 27th of February 2019 (Wednesday), M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Ongoing T20I Series Result:
| Series Result | India 0* | Australia Lead 1-0* |
Here’s the predicted XI line-up for both teams:
India’s Predicted XI:
| Player Name | Role |
| Rohit Sharma | Batsman |
| KL Rahul | Batsman |
| Virat Kohli (C) | Batsman |
| Rishabh Pant | Batsman |
| MS Dhoni | WK/Batsman |
| Dinesh Karthik | Batsman |
| Krunal Pandya | All-Rounder |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | Bowler |
| Siddarth Kaul | Bowler |
| Mayank Markande | Bowler |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bowler |
Australia Predicted XI:
| Player Name | Role |
| D Arcy Short | Batsman |
| Marcus Stoinis | Batsman |
| Aaron Finch (C) | Batsman |
| Glenn Maxwell | All-Rounder |
| Peter Handscomb | WK/Batsman |
| Ashton Turner | Batsman |
| Nathan Coulter-Nile | Bowler |
| Pat Cumins | Bowler |
| Jhye Richardson | Bowler |
| Adam Zampa | Bowler |
| Jason Behrendorff | Bowler |
Head-to-head record in T20Is:
| Matches 19 | India won 11 | Australia 7 | No Result 1 |
| India at Bengaluru | Matches 3 | Won 2 | Lost 1 |
| Australia at Bengaluru | Matches 1 | Won 1 | Lost 0 |
Records set to be achieved or surpassed:
Kohli’s deputy Rohit Sharma requires just two sixes to bag the record for most sixes in T20Is.
Concurrently, the record is shared by Windies Chris Gayle and Kiwis Martin Guptill. The duo has slammed 103 sixes each in the T20I fold for their respective countries.
Also, Rohit is set to feature in his overall 300th T20. He will third Indian to achieve the feat after MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina.
Rohit’s opening partner and the long-time friend will play his 50th T20I for India. He will become the sixth Indian player to feature in most T20Is. Dhoni sits on the top of the perch with 97 matches, followed by Rohit Sharma with 94 and Suresh Raina 78.
Besides, Kohli has featured in 66 T20Is, whereas, southpaw Yuvraj Singh played 58 games for the Men in Blue.
Also, high-flying Bumrah has a chance to surpass premium off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (52). He is two wickets away to lead the table of leading wicket-takers in T20Is for India.
Pitch Conditions:
By considering the history M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has witnessed more results in favour of a team chasing the target. But in the recent past the low-scoring games during the Indian Premier League (IPL) subsequently irate many fans.
However, the batsmen have enjoyed their game by taking bowlers to the cleaners. With stadium at the altitude of 3,000 feet, approximately the balls sailed for a long distance in what could be termed as an advantage for the batters.
Bengaluru T20I Stat:
| Venue | Bengaluru |
| Matches | 5 |
| Batting first team won | 2 |
| Bowling first team won | 3 |
| Average 1st Innings Score | 151 |
| Average 2nd Innings Score | 138 |
| India Record Highest Total |
202/6 vs England
|
| Lowest Total Set |
127 by England vs India
|
| Lowest Total Chased |
157 for seven by Australia vs Bangladesh
|
| Lowest Total Defended |
146 for seven by India against Bangladesh
|
Weather Condition:
To consider the Bengaluru forecast for the second T20I, Accu Weather puts forth the prediction by revealing the temperature would hover around 18-degree Celsius.
So, the temperature won’t be any deterrent for both the teams.
Where to Watch: Star Sports Network including HD Channels, Streaming; HotStar
Match Prediction:
With Australia holding their nerves to win the cliffhanger in Vizag on February 24, India on the other side has a lot on offer to equal the T20I series.
Well, considering the pitch in Bengaluru which is also the home ground for Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), India has plenty of options to dominate against Australia
While considering the shorter boundaries, we could expect 175-plus total on the M. Chinnaswamy surface. Any of the skipper winning the toss would opt for field first.