India will take on Australia in the fourth match of the five-match T20I series being played between the two teams in Raipur on Friday.
The Aussies, fresh from their win in the third T20I in Guwahati, will want to recreate the same and ensure that they go into the final game of the series, shifted to Bengaluru from Hyderabad, with something to play for.
This game in Raipur will be quite important for India because if they manage to win this, they can try out a few new faces in the last game of the series. The batters of India have had a gala of a time out in the middle in the series, and one can expect more of the same in the games to come.
Australia, meanwhile, are banking heavily upon their World Cup stars, especially Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head, to lead them towards victory.
Probable Playing XIs
India: Ruturaj Gayakwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna.
Australia: Matthew Short, Josh Inglis (wk), Steve Smith, Matthew Wade (c), Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Nathan Ellis, Tanveer Sangha.
Key Players
Ruturaj Gayakwad: India's opener Ruturaj Gayakwad, who scored a century in the previous game, will be one to watch out for in this game. He has excellent stroke play, and will be keen on rotating the strike as well. Gayakwad is renowned for hitting the ball in the gaps and timing it sweetly, and that is exactly what you need at the top of the order.
Glenn Maxwell: Glenn Maxwell, who has the ability to tear into the best of bowlers in the opposition, is the danger man for Australia in this game. He scored a match-winning century in the previous game and singlehandedly stood between the Aussies and victory. His off-spin bowling will also come in handy in this game in Raipur.
Match Prediction
India appear to be the downright favourites to win this game. Despite having lost the previous game, they will stand another chance of bagging the series with a win here in Raipur. If India manage to win this game, they will go into the last game in Bengaluru with a 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Australia do not look like repeating their performance in Guwahati.
India vs Australia, Third T20I Overview
Australia managed to chase a mammoth total down to ensure that Ruturaj Gayakwad's heroics went in vain for India. The hero for Australia once again was Glenn Maxwell, who will be best remembered for the double century he scored against Afghanistan in the World Cup.
On Tuesday, he scored a free-flowing century and ensured that the runs came quickly for the Aussies at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. India batted first and ran up an impressive total of 222-3.
Apart from Gayakwad, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma batted well for the Men in Blue to make sure that a late assault helped them reach such a big total. Australia, however, were prepared for the chase and seemed ready to attack from the get-go.
Travis Head got them off to a flying start but it was Maxwell’s genius that took them over the line. This win ensures that Australia have now won one match in the five-game series, with two games to go. India lead the series 2-1.