Cricket: Key stats and player records ahead of Australia vs. India T20I series
Australia vs India T20I head-to-head record
While Australia will enter the T20I series with bags of confidence after securing victory in the ODI format, India will be feeling much better about themselves, having clinched a commanding win in the final 50-over match last week.
Additionally, the Men in Blue were in excellent form in the shortest format last month, when they successfully defended their Asia Cup title by beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final to confirm our cricket predictions, and they also have the advantage in the head-to-head standings against the Aussies.
India, the number one-ranked T20I team in the world, have faced number two-ranked Australia 32 times in the shortest format of the game and won 20 of those matches. The men from Down Under have 11 wins, while one match was abandoned due to rain.
Notably, the hosts have never beaten the visitors on home soil in a T20I series that had more than one game, and India won the last match that these teams met in at the Manuka Oval back in 2020 when they successfully defended just 161 runs.
Team news and key players for T20I series
Without doubt, the biggest inclusion for India for this series is that of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the ODI leg, and his absence was clearly felt by the team, as they struggled to take wickets at the top of the order.
Bumrah could also etch his name in the history books during this series, as he is just three scalps shy of becoming the all-time highest wicket taker against Australia in the shortest format. Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal currently holds the record (19 wickets in 11 T20Is).
With the bat, the in-form Abhishek Sharma will also return to the team after sitting out the ODIs. Sharma recently became the world number one-ranked batter in T20Is at the Asia Cup, where he smashed 314 runs in just seven innings.
Meanwhile, Australia will have to make do without their all-time highest wicket-taker in T20Is, Adam Zampa, who has been granted time off following the birth of his child. Matt Short is also expected to miss at least a couple of matches, having undergone surgery on his finger.
India T20I Squad:
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.
Australia T20I Squad:
Mitchell Marsh (C), Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Matthew Short, Marnus Labuschagne, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann
