Race for T20 World Cup supremacy kicks off

Race for T20 World Cup supremacy kicks off

India vs Australia: T20 International cricket returns to Canberra on October 29 when Australia takes on India in the first match of a five-match series.

The recent ODI series didn’t carry much weight, apart from helping both India and Australia begin their journey toward the 2027 World Cup. But the upcoming five-match T20I series starting Wednesday night in Canberra is much more important in the short term.

India and Australia ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world are using this series as a final tune-up before the T20 World Cup in February, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka. While the playing conditions in Australia won’t match those in the subcontinent, this series gives both teams a valuable chance to test their strategies and lineups against top-level competition.

India is clearly the top team right now. They won the last T20 World Cup and recently dominated the Asia Cup without losing a single match. Their only close game came against Sri Lanka in the Super Fours. Since lifting the World Cup in 2024, India have lost just three matches and have become even stronger thanks to fresh talent from the IPL, all under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav.

Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah returns after skipping the ODI series and is expected to enjoy the early-season conditions in Australia, where he’s performed well before. One challenge for India will be adjusting its team balance to suit Australian pitches, especially since they relied heavily on spin in the Asia Cup.

Australia, on the other hand, have made big changes since their disappointing exit from the 2024 World Cup, where they were knocked out by India. After poor showings in both the 2022 and 2024 tournaments, the team decided to rethink their approach. Under captain Mitchell Marsh, they’ve adopted a bold, power-hitting style and have seen great results winning 18 of their last 20 T20Is. Their batting lineup includes Marsh, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Glenn Maxwell, and Cameron Green (who is sitting out this series to prepare for the Ashes). Marcus Stoinis and Matt Short will step in.

Coach Andrew McDonald spoke about the team’s transformation:

“We’ve played 11 games since we started this new approach. After failing in a couple of World Cups, we knew we had to change. We’ve been more aggressive, tried new batting positions Tim David’s batting higher now and stretched ourselves to see what’s possible.”

He added, “We believe this style can win a World Cup. Of course, we’ll need to tweak it depending on where we play—Colombo, Delhi, or Kolkata.”

For now, Australia get to test their new style against the best team in the world.

“You’re playing India, the No. 1 team,” McDonald said. “It’s a great chance to see if our new approach can stand up. We’re excited for the challenge.”

Australia (possible): Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Josh Philippe, Mitch Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott/Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matt Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.

India (possible): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube/Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.

Stats and Trivia

- There have been five men’s T20Is played in Canberra, the latest in 2022. Teams batting first and chasing have each won twice, with one no result. India’s perfect record in Canberra: India has played just one T20I at this venue back in 2020 and won it by defending a total of 161 against Australia.

- Suryakumar Yadav is currently on the longest run of his T20I career without a fifty 14 matches in a row.

- Australia haven’t won a T20I series at home against India since way back in 2008.