IND v AUS 2020, 1st T20I: Australia's predicted playing XI
At 275 rating points, Australia are breathing down England's neck in the ICC T20I Team Rankings. This series against India presents the Kangaroos with a welcome opportunity to establish themselves at the top of the charts.
Going by their dominant performance in the ODI series, Australia would start as favourites. But it may not be straightforward, as India are likely to put forth a team laden with decorated IPL stars who impressed very recently. Combine that with the absence of Pat Cummins, who has been rested, and David Warner - out injured - and it looks a little more difficult for the Men in Yellow.
With one eye on the Test series coming up after this, Australia would be keen to play their limited-overs specialists who missed out on the ODI leg of the series. Australia will also sweat on Marcus Stoinis' fitness, as the burly all-rounder is a vital cog in their T20I setup and was in fantastic form in the IPL for the Delhi Capitals as well.
Part of the same IPL team was Alex Carey, who struggled to impress in the IPL and couldn't quite finish the game off in the 3rd ODI. He will want to prove his value to the team.
Here is Australia's predicted playing XI for the first T20I against India.
Openers: Aaron Finch (c), Matthew Wade
In the absence of David Warner, who would have been one of the first names on the team sheet, Matthew Wade seems the best like-for-like replacement. His domestic record and reinvention via the BBL seems like his biggest shout. But his recent form for Australia, including in the practice games, has not been the most impressive.
Australia's other option to partner skipper Aaron Finch at the top would be Marcus Stoinis, who has been an effective T20 opener for a while now. His show in the IPL did prove his versatility both at the top and in the middle order, and this could be a call taken on Stoinis' fitness.
The other factor here is that Wade is unlikely to be best utilised in the middle order, thus the openers for Australia are most likely to be Finch and Wade while Stoinis bats lower down.