IND v AUS 2020, 1st T20I: India's predicted playing XI
With the next T20 World Cup not too far away, India would look to approach the T20 series against Australia with more urgency and purpose than they usually do in this format.
India's team balance issues were laid bare in the ODI series. Struggling for bowling variety with just five bowlers, India could look to address the composition of their playing XI in the shortest format of the game.
As evidenced by the tight contest in the final ODI, the Manuka Oval in Canberra plays a lot more into India's strengths as a team. With variable bounce and movement on offer, to go with the longer boundaries, one can expect India's seamers to extract more from the wicket and the spinners to have more of a say.
The solitary T20I played at the Manuka Oval wasn't a very high-scoring affair, with a target of 150 being chased down by Australia against Pakistan. Notably, the top scorer of that match was Steve Smith, who has been in marauding form of late.
Owing to Rohit Sharma's continued absence, KL Rahul will continue as the vice-captain of the side. India may rest some key players as they attempt to strike the balance between testing out their best team and affording their all-format players a breather.
Here is the predicted playing XI for the first India vs Australia T20I on 4th December.
Openers: KL Rahul (wk), Shikhar Dhawan
In the abridged format of the game, Rahul is best utilised at the top of the order, as shown by his remarkable season for the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. A player who was equally prolific as an opener was Shikhar Dhawan, and with no Rohit in the side, there is hardly a question about the openers.
India might pull a rabbit out of the hat and try a player like Sanju Samson in an opener's slot. The other possible option is Virat Kohli coming up top, as he did briefly in the format. However, with two openers in decent T20 form, expect India not to tinker with the opening combination too much, at least in the opening game of the series.
Both Rahul and Dhawan have been in patchy form in the recent ODI series, with one fifty to their name. This might just add an element of hunger to their batting, with both of them keen to ensure their name is pencilled down for the mega event in 2021.