India to field first in second T20I against Australia
What's the story
Australia are without premier pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for the second T20I against India at the SCG on Sunday. Trailing 1-0, the Aussies will want to bounce back and square the series. Meanwhile, India have won the toss and elected to bowl first. Notably, Aaron Finch too is out with an injury, paving the way for Matthew Wade to lead the side.
Playing XI
A look at the playing XI of both teams
Australia (Playing XI): D Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques, Matthew Wade (wk and c), Daniel Sams, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Swepson, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye India (Playing XI): KL Rahul (wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan, Yuzvendra Chahal
Starc
Mitchell Starc opts out of remaining T20Is
Australia's left-arm pacer Starc has withdrawn from Australia's squad for the remainder of the T20I series against India for personal reasons. It is understood that he opted out on compassionate grounds due to a family illness. Cricket Australia (CA) informed about the development ahead of the second T20I between Australia and India. Australia head coach, Justin Langer, said Starc should be given his space.
Changes
Notable changes in both sides
Finch, who suffered an injury in the opening T20I, misses out. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis comes in to replace the star batsman. Meanwhile, Hazlewood suffered a back niggle and is replaced by another all-rounder in the form of Daniel Sams. Andrew Tye comes in for Starc. For India. Shreyas Iyer comes in as Manish Pandey has an elbow issue. Pacer Mohammed Shami is rested.
Kohli
We will bowl first, says Virat Kohli
Indian captain Virat Kohli said that the side will want to restrict Australia as Finch is missing the game. "We will bowl first. Pitch looked really nice in the second half in the previous games we played. They are missing Aaron Finch today, so we want to restrict them and chase it down," said the 32-year-old.
Information
Pitch report and conditions
The pitches at the SCG for the first two ODIs produced plenty of runs but were uneven towards the end of the second match. It remains to be seen how things shape up. The weather is nice and sunny with clear skies on offer.
Twitter Post
India to bowl first at the SCG
TOSS NEWS FROM SYDNEY 🏏
— ICC (@ICC) December 6, 2020
India have opted to field in the second #AUSvIND T20I. pic.twitter.com/qMkI3ZHLBw