Preview: India Vs Australia T20Is
India
Strengths
Well... where to start? An in-form top order with probably the top two limited over cricket batsmen comprising the top-3 would scare any opposition.
And if one of them is Virat Kohli whose hunger for runs is just crazy it would definitely lead to alarm bells ringing in the opposition camp. To add to this, Kuldeep Yadav, Chahal and Jadeja provide good attacking options to the team.
Weaknesses
It has to be the middle to lower order. #4 onwards the batting lineup is just not as established as the team would like it to be. With Hardik Pandya missing, India is also lacking a fast bowling allrounder, something that could prove to be essential in Australian Conditions
Player to watch out for...
The player to watch out for is Kuldeep Yadav. This kid has until now passed all the tests that have been put in front of him with flying colors. He's conquered both South Africa and England. It would be very interesting to see how he fares in Australian conditions.
India T20I Squad: Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, K Khaleel Ahmed
Australia
Strengths
Their strength has to be the number of match-winners in that team. Finch, Lynn, Maxwell, Stoinins. All of them on a good day can seal any match for the team.
Weakness
One of the biggest weakness for the team has to be the past. The ghost of ball tempering still bothers the team and to add to it is the unimpressive recent record of the team where they have hardly won anything. The batting in the recent times has just been below par so that will be under the microscope as well.
Player to watch out for...
One player whose performances were a notch above everyone else in the recently concluded South Africa series was Marcus Stoinis. Performing credibly with both bat and ball, he left an indelible mark on the series and is really turning into a bright prospect. Would be really interesting to see if he can carry that form into this series against India.
Australia T20I Squad: Aaron Finch(c), Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa
Verdict
It seems highly unlikely that the Aussies can stop the Indian juggernaut right now. They might be able to attack the Indian batsmen but it would be very tough for them to fend off the Indian wrist spinners.