In the fourth T20I of the five-match bilateral series, India will take on Australia at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur today, December 1, at 7 PM IST.
The Men in Blue had a strong start to the series, winning the first two matches easily, but then failed to win a third consecutive match. Nonetheless, the side still has a chance to claim the series tonight on Raipur’s slow pitch, where winning the toss will be crucial. The openers, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal, are in top form, followed by skipper Suryakumar Yadav at no. four. Tilak Verma and Rinku Singh are also in good touch, and supporters would like to see them bat together for an extended period of time. The only minor worry is Ishan Kishan‘s form. Despite scoring back-to-back half-centuries in the first two matches, his confidence appeared completely depleted in the last game, which he would like to recover from quickly. With the ball as well, newlywed Mukesh Kumar will be back in action along with Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi. Prasidh Krishna might get dropped after his poor outing in the last game.
On the contrary, Australia are full of confidence after chasing down 223 runs in the third T20I. One of the key reasons behind this was Glenn Maxwell‘s humongous hundred of just 48 balls, which helped the Aussies clinch victory. Now, Maxwell is back home but most likely, Chris Green will replace him tonight. Skipper Matthew Wade is also in good form but needs to bat a few numbers up now. Travis Head will once again open the innings, while with the ball, Nathan Ellis, Tanveer Sangha, Kane Richardson, and Ben Dwarshuis might be included in the XI. Certainly, the side will miss Adam Zampa‘s presence tonight as there is no like-to-like replacement for him, which would have been crucial on this slow track.
Head-to-Head:
Both sides have played 29 T20I matches against each other, in which the Men in Blue have won 17 and Australia have won 11. One match was also called off due to rain.
Where to watch:
TV: Sports18
OTT: JioCinema