India vs Australia 2019, 2nd T20I: Preview and Predicted Playing XI

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India will aim to level the series against the Aussies.

In an unexpected turnaround, India lost the opening T20I against the touring Aussies by three wickets. Now, they will aim to hit back and avoid a second consecutive series defeat, when they welcome Australia to the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, February 27 for the second T20I.

India

India's unbeaten home run was halted by the visitors at Visakhapatnam and now the Men in Blue must win this clash in order to avoid a series defeat.

Batting

Virat Kohli made a bold decision by resting Shikhar Dhawan in the opener but his replacement KL Rahul made his opportunity count by hitting an impressive 50 on his return. Rahul is likely to feature in the next game as well and will be expected to put on a similar show. His opening partner Rohit Sharma failed to make an impact last time around and the vice-captain will be keen to make amends in the next game.

Skipper Kohli and MS Dhoni were the only other batters to reach the double figure mark. Kohli slammed a quick 24, but Dhoni came under scrutiny for his slow innings, finishing with 29 runs from 37 balls.

Bowling

Jasprit Bumrah made no mistake on his return, moving past the 50 wickets mark in the shortest format by finishing with figures of 3/16 in the opening fixture. Bumrah has been in fabulous form in recent times and will pose a major threat to the Aussies.

Expected Playing XI

Virat Kohli (C) Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni, Krunal Pandya, Siddarth Kaul, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mayank Markande, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik/Vijay Shankar

Australia

Australia eye their first T20I series win since 2016

The Aussies found a new lease of life with their victory in the opening fixture and will look to keep up the momentum in Bengaluru.

Batting

Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short, fresh from their tremendous BBL stint, continued to come good and played crucial knocks of 56 and 37 respectively to anchor the chase for the visitors.

Marcus Stoinis and skipper Aaron Finch failed to make a mark in the first fixture and from the team's perspective, it'll be essential that these two come good in the next outing.

Bowling

Nathan Coulter-Nile laid the foundation for the visitors' win in the first game by picking 3-26 in his four overs, which included the crucial wicket of KL Rahul. Meanwhile, Pat Cummins (1-19) and Jason Behrendorff (1-16) were quite economical in their spells and gave nothing away to the batsmen.

The only bowler to get a beating was Jhye Richardson (0/31) and he might face the axe in favour of Kane Richardson for the next game.

Expected Playing XI

Aaron Finch (C), D'Arcy Short, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey (C), Peter Handscomb, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson/Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa and Pat Cummins.

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