India vs Australia, IND vs AUS, Today Match Prediction 23 September 2022

ind vs aus Match Prediction & Analysis

India will host Australia in the second T20I of the three-match series at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur on 23rd September from 7:00 PM onwards. Australia lead the series by 1-0 after chasing 208 for the loss of 6 wickets at Mohali. 

The 1st T20I came up with a stunning result. Batting first India scored 208 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. KL Rahul scored the 18th fifty of the format followed by 71 runs from Hardik Pandya at a strike rate of 236.67. Nathan Ellis took 3 wickets for 30 including one of the in-form Virat Kohli. Australian openers started the chase with a fiery comeback. Cameroon Green scored his first half-century (61 off 30). Matthew Wade made it look easy at the end by hitting 45 runs off just 21 deliveries to take the game by 4 wickets. 

Australia now has a chance to win the back-to-back T20I series in India. Last Australia visited India, they won the two-match series 2-0.  And they are yet to lose a T20I series in India since 2007. But losing the first game and winning the series is not a new thing for India. They have won the last 10 T20I series played at home. Australia is the only team to win a T20 series in India in the last 5 years. With such strong countering numbers, the second T20I has got nail-biting importance. 

Will India be able to save the series to keep its record intact?

TEAMS PREVIEW

India Preview

Rohit Sharma’s T20I side is in big trouble especially when it comes to the death bowling. In the absence of Bumrah, Bhuvi has now conceded 16, 14, and 19 runs in the last four games. It was also for the first time in his career that Bhuvi conceded more than 50 runs. Harshal Patel who was making his comeback went for 22 runs in the 18th over of the game which changed the momentum of the game. India played 6 bowlers including Hardik Pandya as an all-rounder, yet couldn’t manage to defend a total of more than 200. 

This was the first time Virat Kohli suffered a defeat while being part of the squad that scored 200 plus runs. He defended it 12 times while captaining the side. So it's obvious that not only with the bowling but Sharma is also struggling with the proper utilization of his players. 

Axar Patel was the only positive from the 1st T20I. He took 3 wickets for just 17 runs in his 4 overs. He broke the opening partnership of Finch and Green and then also sent Green to the pavilion. Fielding-wise, India’s performance was poor too. They dropped three catches and two of them were Cameroon Green’s. Even Yuzvendra Chahal and Karthik didn’t appeal for an LBW where the replay showed that Green could have gone early into the tent. Chahal’s form is also trouble in paradise for India. If the game against Hong Kong is excluded India’s leading spinner has given 10 runs in an over collectively in the last 4 games.  

Batting-wise India has no trouble as such. KL Rahul, Sharma, Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav at the top had made sure that the score will be always past 170 in the recent games. Rahul who scored his 18th fifty still needs to work on his strike rate. Yadav scored 46 runs in 25 balls that included 4 sixes. He has been consistent throughout his career and is an ideal option at number 4. Hardik Pandya scored 71 off 30 balls in the first T20I. Pandya has been terrific since his return to the team last year. 

Key Players: Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya.

India Predicted Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

India Actual Playing XI:

YS Chahal, Lokesh Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel

Australia Preview

Australia didn’t miss David Warner. Aaron Finch and Cameroon Green made sure that they will be opening throughout the series. Aaron finch is the leading run-scorer for Australia this year. But Green whose highest score was 36 before the game showed that he will be in the business for a long time. Green not only scored 61 but also took the wicket of Suryakumar at a crucial stage. No Stoinis? No Problem.

Steve Smith looked confident in his 35 runs off 24 balls. His performance will be crucial for Australia looking at the T20I World Cup next month. Maxwell who scored 169 runs in just 2 games at a strike rate of 172.44 last time went cheaply but his presence at number 4 will be threatening at Nagpur. Debutant Tim David found it difficult to start at the international level. His 18 runs in 14 balls put pressure on Matthew Wade at the end. Wade played a classy inning of 45 off just 21 deliveries. It included 6 fours and 2 sixes.  

Just like India, Australia is also finding it difficult to bring the best out of their pace attack. Hazelwood who is Australia’s leading wicket-taker this season with 16 wickets with an economy of less than 7 went for 10 runs in an over after taking Sharma’s wicket early. Cummins went a step ahead to give 12 runs in an over. He now has just 3 wickets in his last 8 games. Nathan Ellis used his experience from playing T20s across the world. Ellis now has 7 wickets in 2 T20Is played this year. 

Key Players: Nathan Ellis, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazelwood.

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

Aaron Finch (c), Cameroon Green, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazelwood, Steve Smith, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Adam Zampa, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Wade.

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Timothy David, Aaron Finch, Daniel Sams, Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, Cameron Green, Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Josh Hazlewood

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be partly cloudy. Scattered thunderstorms are predicted in the early day.  The temperature will range between 22 and 30°C. The wind will be flowing from the west at 10-15 kmh. The pitch favors batters in the first innings but tilts towards pacers in the second. The longer boundaries make it difficult to score for batters. Deepak Chahar has a career-best of 6 wickets for 7 runs in the second innings on this pitch.

Venue Details

The 2nd T20I of between India and Australia will be played at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur. The venue holds a capacity of 45000 spectators and has hosted 5 tests, 11 ODIs & 12 T20I so far. The stadium will host its first T20I after a gap of 3 years. Sri Lanka have recorded the highest total of 215 at this ground against India. It has 80-yard straight boundaries and 85-yard square boundaries, which makes it one of the largest grounds (in terms of playing area) in the world.

Toss: To Bowl

In 12 T20Is, teams have successfully defended the target on 9 occasions. This includes the last three games played here. The average first innings score is 153, 25 more than the average second innings score. But it will be raining before the game. Hence there will be dew present in the second innings. Therefore team winning the toss should bowl first.