India vs Australia – 1st T20I Fantasy Preview

The battle of the champions, if that’s what you want to call it. The mighty Aussies are here to tour India shortly after the latter returned from Down Under earlier this year. The tour will act as a prelude to the ICC 2019 World Cup as Australia will play India in 2 T20s and 5 ODIs between 24th February and 13th March 2019.

The 1st T20I begins later today at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. While a lot of IPL cricket has taken place here, only 2 T20Is have been contested at this ground, with only one producing a result, where India completed a 9-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in 2016. Keep reading this article for our complete fantasy preview of the 1st T20I…

Match info

  • Tournament: Australia tour of India 2019
  • Date: 24th February 2019, 7:00pm IST
  • Venue: Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
  • Capacity: 25,000+
  • Series status: 1st T20I of the 2-match series

India vs Australia 1st T20I fantasy preview

Form (recent first)

  • India: L W L W L
  • Australia: L W L L L

Stats

  • India won the only previous T20I here with a result, beating Sri Lanka by 9 wickets.
  • Shikhar Dhawan top scored in that game with 46*.
  • Spin will play a vital part in the match, as Indian spinners picked 7 wickets in that game. Ravi Ashwin returned magical figures of 4/8.
  • The last T20I series between these teams in Australia was drawn 1-1.

India

For the home team, the biggest boost is that of the return of Virat Kohli, who was rested against New Zealand. He didn’t get a lot of T20I action in 2018 and will be looking to make the most on his return. However, the Aussie bowlers will first have to get rid of the openers Dhawan and Rohit ‘Hitman’ Sharma. Another return to the side will be seen in Jasprit Bumrah, who is currently one of the best death overs bowlers in the world.

Like we mentioned, spin is going to have a major part in this game and that’s where the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Krunal Pandya will come into the equation. Krunal is a handy batsman so I’d definitely pick him in my fantasy team. The younger Pandya brother Hardik has been rested for the series and Vijay Shankar will be the all-rounder replacement. As for wicket-keeping, don’t miss Rishabh Pant in your team as this is his favourite format of the game.

Australia

Marcus Stoinis is a must-have in your fantasy team today as he is fresh off a fantastic Big Bash League in Australia, with 533 runs and 14 wickets in the tournament. He is coming into this series which is in the same format so expect this form to continue. Another person coming into the team with red-hot form is D’Arcy Short and he ended as the top run-scorer in the BBL, smashing 637 runs in all. Make sure you have these two in your side.

Another popular pick is going to be Kane Richardson, who was the highest wicket taker in the BBL 2018/19, picking up 24 scalps in 14 games for the Renegades, but I’ll be looking at my options here, as there are a lot of hard-working Aussie bowlers who have done well in India in the past, including Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pat Cummins.

IND v AUS Punting

My fantasy eleven

India vs Australia 1st T20I fantasy team


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About Dwayne Fernandes 2314 Articles
Indian, 28 years old. Avid cricket fan. Business Management Graduate. Twitter and Instagram - @dwayneeeboy