Team India have won the toss and have elected to bowl first in the 1st T20I against Australia in Vishakhapatnam. Suryakumar Yadav, who has become India's 13th T20I skipper, tossed the coin and it fell against the Australian keeper-batter's call on a good wicket. The match is especially critical from Suryakumar's perspective after a dismal 2023 World Cup campaign.
The five-match T20I series between the two sides comes only 4 days after they battled in the 2023 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Hence, both cricket boards have rested the players who played in the 2023 World Cup, with the fringe players getting a chance to push their case.
It's worth noting that Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan are the only players from India's 2023 World Cup squad featuring in the 1st T20I. Meanwhile, Australia have Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis, and Sean Abbott from a successful World Cup campaign playing in the opening game of the five-game series. The tourists will be brimming with confidence after defeating India in the 2023 World Cup in front of a record crowd and will look to translate it in the shortest format.
Playing XI of both India and Australia ahead of the 1st T20I:
Team India playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna.
Australia playing XI: Matthew Short, Steven Smith, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w/c), Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha.
