India won the toss and decided to bowl first against Australia in the first of the three-match T20I series at The Gabba, Brisbane.
Here is what the captains said:
Virat Kohli:
“We are going to bowl first. Looks a hard surface with a decent covering of grass. We haven’t had much of time here, so we would like to see how the pitch behaves. It’s going to be competitive.”
Aaron Finch:
“I would have preferred to bowl first, but I don’t mind putting up a score on the board. Adam Zampa comes in for Nathan Coulter-Nile”
Preview:
The much-awaited full-fledged series between India and Australia is just a few minutes away. Going by the current form, India will start the series as firm favourites. While India are entering the series on the back of a thumping win over reigning T2o World champions Windies, Australia lost to South Africa at home. Prior to that, the team from Down Under had suffered a crushing 3-0 loss at the hands of Pakistan at UAE. With Steve Smith and David Warner not in the team due to the bans and India flying high, Arron Finch & Co. will have their task cut out.
Both the teams will be desperate to win the tour-opener as it can set the tone for the whole summer. If Australia manage to bounce back from their recent woes and give India a run for their money, the series can be a blockbuster.
Teams:
Australia:
D Arcy Short, Aaron Finch(c), Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey(w), Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Billy Stanlake
India:
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed