After slumping to defeat in the One-Day International (ODI) series,Virat Kohli-led India will now head into the three-match Twenty20I series against Aaron Finch’s Australia from Friday at Manuka Oval in Canberrra.
The Men in Blue slumped to 66 runs and 51 runs defeat in the first two high-scoring ODIs, respectively against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) before they rebounded strongly to seal a narrow 13-run win in the third and final match and end the series with a 1-2 loss.
Australia will now look continue their winning momentum and seal another series win over India.
The visiting side, on the other hand, will be keen to take inspiration from their past T20I record against the Aussies and third ODI victory when they go into the T20I series.
HEAD-TO-HEAD Record
As far as head-to-head record between the two sides is concerned in the shortest format of the game, India hold an advantage over the home side going into the upcoming series.
The two teams have locked horns in a total of 20 T20I matches so far, with India clinching wins on 11 occasions and Australia emerging victorious in eight of those games.One clash between the the two sides ended in no result.
In fact, the Men in Blue have won four out of six matches they played Down Under since 2016 and, therefore, they will be favourites going into the forthcoming series.
However, the Aussies have clinched victories in three out of their previous five encounters against India.
Ahead of the T20I series between the two teams, let us take a look at their previous five fixtures:
India vs Australia, February 24, 2019, Visakhapatnam
In what was the low-scoring clash between the two sides in Visakhapatnam, Australia defeated India by three wickets.
KL Rahul notched up a crucial knock of 50 before Nathan Coulter-Nile grabbed three wickets to restrict the home side to a score of 126/7 in their stipulated 20 overs.
In reply, Jasprit Bumrah claimed brilliant figures of three for 16 to give a glimmer of hope to India but Glenn Maxwell notched up a crucial 43-ball 56 runs before Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson held their nerves to guide Australia past the mark on the last ball.
India vs Australia, February 27, 2019 in Bengaluru
Indian skipper Virat Kohli played a captain’s knock of unbeaten 72 runs off 38 deliveries, while opener KL Rahul (47) and former wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni (40) well-supported him to help their side post a good total of 190/4.
However, all-rounder Glenn Maxwell smashed a blistering unbeaten knock of 55-ball 113 and D’Arcy Short scored a crucial 28-ball 40 to help Austalia cross the mark in 19.4 overs and seal a seven-wicket win.
Australia vs India, November 25, 2018 in Sydney
Asked to bowl first, Krunal Pandya bagged brilliant figures of four for 36 while Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with figures of one for 19 as India restricted Australia to a score of 164 for six in their stipulated 20 overs.D’Arcy Short (33) and Aaron Finch (28) were the top scorer for the hosts.
In reply, skipper Virat Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 41-ball 61, while opener Shikhar Dhawan made a notable contribution of 22-ball 41 to help India chase down the target with two balls to spare and clinch a six-wicket win.
Australia vs India, November 23, 2018 in Melbourne
This T20I between the two sides ended in no result after persistent rain forced the game to be called off. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed claimed two wickets each, while Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya took a wicket each as Australia reached the score of 132 for seven after 19 overs.
Ben McDermott (32) and Andrew Tye (12) remained unbeaten at the crease.
Australia vs India, November 21, 2018 in Brisbane
In a match which was reduced to 17-overs per side due to rain, Glenn Maxwell scored a quick-fire 46 off just 24 deliveries, while Marcus Stoinis notched up an unbeaten 19-ball 33 to help Australia post a decent score of 158 for 4.
Chasing the target, Shikhar Dhawan’s crucial knock of 76 runs off 42 balls went in vain as Australia were adjudged winner via Duckworth-Lewis Method (DLS).Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis claimed two wickets each, while Andrew Tye, Billy Stanlake and Jason Behrendorff chipped in with a wicket each.
