Sports
Australia vs India, second T20I: Preview, Dream11 and stats
The action returns to Sydney as Australia and India are set to battle it out in the second T20I. After comprehensively winning the series opener, Team India will aim to extend their dominance over the hosts in the three-match T20I series. Meanwhile, the Men in Yellow would want to bounce back and square the series 1-1. Here is the match preview.
Venue, timing, TV listing, pitch report and conditions
The SCG will host the second T20I on December 6 (1:40 PM IST). As seen in the ODI series, the wicket here assists the batsmen, with spin will coming into play eventually. The temperature could hover around 29 degrees Celsius. Besides, one can watch the match live on the Sony sports network, while live streaming will be available on the SonyLIV app (paid subscription).
Nathan Lyon added to the T20I squad
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon has been added to the T20I squad. While all-rounder Ashton Agar was ruled out of the series with calf injury, Cameron Green has been released to play for Australia A. Australia are also sweating over Aaron Finch's fitness after he suffered a niggle. Probable XI: Short, Finch/Labuschagne, Wade (WK), Smith, Maxwell, Henriques, Swepson/Lyon, Abbott, Starc, Zampa, Hazlewood
Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of T20I series
In a huge blow for India, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the series after sustaining a concussion. Fast bowler Shardul Thakur has been added as his cover for the series. Meanwhile, either Mayank Agarwal or Shreyas Iyer is expected to bolster the batting in Jadeja's absence. Probable XI: Dhawan, Rahul (WK), Kohli (C), Pandey, Samson, Pandya, Shreyas/Mayank, Sundar, Chahar, Shami, Natarajan
A look at the interesting stats
Opener, Dhawan (1,589), could surpass Suresh Raina (1,605) and MS Dhoni (1,617) to become India's third-highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals. Meanwhile, Kohli (593) could be the first-ever cricketer to complete 600 T20I runs against Australia. On the other hand, Chahal might become India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is. He presently has second-most wickets (58) for India after Jasprit Bumrah (59).
Dream11: Rahul, Henriques to lead the side
Wicket-keeper: KL Rahul (C). Batsmen: Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, D'Arcy Short, Moises Henriques (VC), Shikhar Dhawan. All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar. Bowlers: T. Natarajan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mitchell Starc.
