India vs Australia 1st T20I Highlights: Dhawan, Kohli's dismissals derail India's chase

IND vs AUS 1st T20: India are looking forward to dominating the home team which has recently succumbed to their sixth loss (against South Africa) in eight T20I face-offs

The much-awaited India tour of Australia begins on Wednesday in Brisbane with the first T20I at The Gabba. The men-in-blue will enter the series after having whitewashed West Indies 3-0 at home. And now, they are looking forward to dominate Australia which has recently succumbed to their sixth loss (against South Africa) in eight T20I face-offs.

Psychological advantage to the visitors

Kohli & Co. have won 7 consecutive T20I series played since November 2017 and lost the only game against West Indies last year. The last time they played a T20I series on Australian soil (back in January 2016), it was MS Dhoni who led India to a 3-0 victory. And going into the series on Wednesday, India will surely look forward to maintaining the momentum.

India have already announced a list of 12 shortlisted players from which the final playing XI will be selected. The batting department looks settled after Shikhar Dhawan bounced back to form in the recently-concluded series against the Windies, while Rohit Sharma has also been amongst runs.

The biggest positive for India is the return of Kohli who was rested for the series against the Caribbean side. Also, the middle-order, comprising Lokesh Rahul, Dinesh Karthik along with stumper Rishabh Pant, is expected to shoulder the responsibility in case the top three fails.

Talking about India's bowling, the star speedsters – Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah will lead the attack, also comprising rookie left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed. There is a three-way fight for the two spinner's slot, while Krunal Pandya looks certain in the playing XI because of his batting abilities, it will be a toss-up between chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and leggie Yuzvendra Chahal. Considering the current form and his unmatchable wicket-taking abilities, Kuldeep might pip Chahal for the specialist spinner's slot.

Australia eyeing a strong comeback

On the other hand, Australia's batting will largely depend upon the trio of skipper Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short, who have all scored more than 400 runs in T20Is this year. However, the Kangaroos will hope for a better show from the others if they are to fancy any chances against a strong Indian bowling.

It will also be interesting to see if Australia would once again be tempted to opt for a three-pronged pace attack, considering their loss with the same combination against the Proteas in the recent one-off tie. In such a scenario, Andrew Tye and Billy Stanlake will be the first choice pacers, with all-rounder Marcus Stoinis while Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar comprise the spin attack.

Squads:

India (shortlisted 12): Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed.

Australia: Aaron Finch (Captain), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (WK), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Ben McDermott, Glenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.