India’s two-month long tour of Australia begins in earnest on Wednesday at Brisbane as Virat Kohli and his men get ready to take on the hosts in the first of the three T20s.
The Gabba will play host to the two teams who will look to start the series on a winning note.
As the No3 ranked Aussies get ready to lock horns with the No2 ranked Indians, we take a look at the key talking points.
AUSTRALIA LOOK TO END DISMAL STREAK
It hasn’t been a kind start to life as Australia coach for Justin Langer. His tenure began with a 0-5 ODI whitewash at the hands of England before a disappointing tour of the UAE where his team were blanked 3-0 in the T20 series while also suffering a 0-1 loss in the Tests against Pakistan.
With the once mighty Aussies hitting new lows, the pressure will very much be on the hosts to deliver in front of their home fans. They have some cause for optimism with respect to their T20 record at home with the side having won four games on the bounce on Australian soil.
Their recent T20 track record, though, is poor with the side having lost four matches on the bounce in the format coming into Wednesday’s clash at the Gabba. With their backs against the wall, Aaron Finch and his men will be desperate to turn their fortunes around and start the home season with a confidence inspiring win.
Aaron Finch and Justin Langer are feeling the heat.
INDIA ARRIVE IN CONFIDENT FORM
While the hosts find themselves in the midst of an abysmal streak, India, on the other hand, arrive on Australian shores full of confidence. The men in blue have won 11 of their last 12 T20 encounters and come into the series on the back of a 3-0 whitewash of reigning world champions West Indies.
Kohli and his men have been flying in the T20 format over the last two years with eight bilateral series wins out of 10. India’s impressive track record of 24 wins from their last 34 clashes has been bettered only by the No1 ranked Pakistan who have won 29 from 33 games.
The last time India played a T20 series in Australia, they ran out comprehensive 3-0 victors overs the hosts. The tourists will be eager to repeat that performance and will come into the series as clear favourites, a tag which has rarely been used in history to describe a touring India side in Australia.
India have been flying in the T20 format.
ROHIT ON VERGE OF OVERTAKING GUPTILL
It has been a sensational year in limited-overs cricket for India’s deputy skipper Rohit Sharma who is in the middle of a purple patch with the bat.
Having just recently become the first batsman in the world register four T20I hundreds, the India opener has another milestone in sight ahead of Wednesday’s clash.
With 2,207 runs from his 87 T20 innings, Rohit is just 64 runs shy of all-time leading run-scorer Martin Guptill. While the classy right-hander has a chance to leapfrog the New Zealand opener, he could also become the first Indian batsman and third overall to register a century of sixes in the format.
Rohit currently has 96 sixes to his name and is only behind Guptill and Chris Gayle who both have 103.
With the form the India man currently is in, there is every chance he could attain these feats at the Gabba itself.
Rohit Sharma can become the all-time leading run-scorer.
