Preview: Australia v India – 2nd T20I

First Published : 02 Feb 2012, 14:26
Last Modified : 02 Feb 2012, 14:29

By: BCCI

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What

The second and final T20 International between Australia and India

When

February 03, 2012. The game begins at 14:05 IST.

Where

Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne. Going by Australia’s record at this venue, the visitors’ chances are slim. In the four T20 internationals played here, Australia have emerged victorious each time. However, with the margin of victory in the last two of those victories begin under five runs, there is hope yet for the embattled Indian side.

The Teams

Australia hardly put a foot wrong in their 31-run win against India at Sydney. Matthew Wade and David Hussey propelled the hosts to a competitive score of 171 after which their bowlers managed to restrict the Indians to a paltry 140. The only thing that might bother the hosts was that fast bowlers Brett Lee and James Faulkner went for 54 runs in the six overs (economy-rate 9.00) bowled between them, which could mean that Clint McKay gets a chance in the playing eleven at Melbourne.

India will definitely look to make changes to their pace-bowling combination at Melbourne. With Praveen Kumar coming back after a long injury layoff, it was natural that he took some time before hitting his stride. But Umesh Yadav could be a likely candidate to replace R Vinay Kumar. Also, there could be a case for including all-rounder Irfan Pathan in the side ahead of one of the two frontline spinners, R Ashwin and Rahul Sharma, both of whom played at Sydney.

Key Players

David Hussey proved how valuable he is to the Australian side with an all-round performance at Sydney. When he came out to bat, he was happy to watch Matthew Wade take the Indian attack apart, but switched gears at the fall of Wade’s wicket to finish with a 30-ball 42. Later during the Indian innings, his two wickets from five deliveries derailed the run chase and gave Australia a comfortable win.

Not only was Virat Kohli India’s highest run-getter in the Test series, the youngster also looked good during his brief innings of 22 in the first T20 international. His six off Brett Lee in the third over could only have been played by a batsman in form and he looked eager to find the quick singles too. Kohli got out looking to up the run-rate during the run-chase, but had he played a big innings, India might well have finished on the winning side.

Trivia

• India’s lowest total in T20Is came in their nine-wicket defeat against Australia the last time they played here. Incidentally, India’s score of 74 all out in that game ranks fifth worst on the list of all-time lowest T20I innings totals. The lowest score ever by any side in a T20 international is when Kenya were bowled out for 67 by Ireland on August 4, 2008.
• With an innings of 25 in the first T20 international, David Warner became the first Australian to reach the 800-run mark in T20Is. Warner is the seventh batsman to reach the 800-run milestone and is exactly 445 runs behind the leading run-getter in T20Is, Brendon McCullum.

Venue Stats

Average first innings score at the MCG in T20Is: 133

Result summary at the MCG in T20Is:

Head-to-head:

Last T20I meeting between Australia and India at MCG: February 1, 2008

Brief scores: Australia (75/1 in 11.2 overs) beat India (74 all out in 17.3 overs) by nine wickets

Form guide in T20Is (most recent listed first)

Australia:  Won, Lost, Won, Lost, Lost (2 wins, 3 losses)

India: Lost, Lost, Lost, Won, Won (2 wins, 3 losses)

The Squads

India: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Zaheer Khan & Irfan Pathan

Australia: George Bailey (c), David Warner (vc), Travis Birt, Dan Christian, Xavier Doherty,
James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay & Matthew Wade

All stats are as on February 02, 2012