Vizag weather forecast today: What are the chances of rain during the India vs Australia 1st T20I?
India and Australia, who competed for the biggest prize in world cricket a few days ago, will be back in action once again. Both teams will shift their focus to the T20 World Cup next year with a five-match T20I series against Australia. The first match of the series will be played at the VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Players who were part of India's last T20I series against Ireland have been retained, barring Jasprit Bumrah. Prasidh Krishna, who came in for injured Hardik Pandya, has also retained his spot, while Ishan Kishan replaced Sanju Samson.
Suryakumar Yadav will lead a young side that mostly boasts players who did well in the IPL. With the T20 World Cup scheduled in less than a year, they will hope to raise the bar and stake a claim in the squad for the mega event.
Australia, on the other hand, have included a few players from their World Cup squad for the series against India, barring skipper Pat Cummins. Wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade will lead the team thatcomprises Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, and Australia's hero in the final, Travis Head.
The two teams have produced nerve-wreaking contests whenever they have locked horns. The upcoming five T20Is will be no different, starting from today.
While the plot is set, the buzz is about how the weather will pan out in Vizag. There is a heavy chance of rain in the morning and afternoon, coupled with thunderstorms. But, luckily for fans, there is a very minimal chance of showers in the evening according to the forecast.
The temperature will hover around 26-27 degrees Celsius, while the humidity will be around 80 percent. The weather quality will be 'very unhealthy' as deemed by Accuweather.
Overall, the weather would be pleasant for a game of cricket and we could expect a delayed start.
"Let's be very selfless when we go into the field" - Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav's message to the team
In the absence of Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side against Australia. In his first media interaction as an Indian captain, Suryakumar asserted that his message to the team would be to play fearless selfless cricket.
"What I told them [squad] when I met them in the afternoon today was let's be very selfless when we go into the field," Suryakumar told reporters. "Because I'm a guy who doesn't think too much about the personal milestones and instead thinks of the team's goal.
"And I've always told them that you have to keep the team first and then whatever comes after that, you can take your call. And I've played with them a lot of times during the IPL and a few India games as well, so they know how I function. And it wasn't that difficult and we are really excited to go about in the series," he added.
India and Suryakumar Yadav will look to begin the series with a win, which also marks the beginning of their preparations for the T20 World Cup.