Who Came Out on Top the Last Time India Faced Australia in Canberra?

ByAnupam Pandey,SportsCafe Editor

Yesterday at 3:55 PM

The T20I series between India and Australia is all set to take place from 29 October. With Australia winning the ODI series, India now aims for a comeback in the T20I series. The series starts with the first match being in Canberra, a ground that has favoured the Indian team to some extent.

Who Came Out on Top the Last Time India Faced Australia in Canberra.

India and Australia are all set to face each other in the T20I series, which starts from 29 October. The first match of the series will take place in Canberra. This ground is known for being beneficial to the batters, having a fast outfield, runs will be scored from both ends.

Australia had already won the ODI series, and now India will aim to mark its comeback in the T20I series. Both teams have their line-ups filled with young talent, as they now aim to make a mark against each other. With the first game being at Canberra, fans might wonder what happened the last time India and Australia faced each other here in the T20I format.

1. India vs Australia 2020/21, 1st T20I

During the India tour of Australia 2020/21, both teams went against each other in a three-match T20I series. The first T20I game of the series was set to be played at Manuka Oval, Canberra, as India aimed to have a good start to the series. Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch stood at the toss, and Australia ended up winning the same as they decided to field first.

India did not have a good start in the game, with Shikhar Dhawan being dismissed for 1 run and Virat Kohli being dismissed for 9. However, KL Rahul and Sanju Samson partnered to help the team stabilise the team's score. Samson was able to score 23 runs off 15 balls before losing his wicket to Moises Henriques. Eventually, Manish Pandey was also dismissed cheaply, scoring just 2 runs.

‌Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

KL Rahul, who looked like the lone warrior, got out after scoring 51 runs off 40 balls. At this time, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja played a great cameo to provide a strong finish to the Indian team. India was able to finish with the score of 161/7, as Jadeja remained not out after scoring 44 runs off just 23 balls.

The Indian bowling line-up was filled with young talents at that time, such as T Natarajan, Deepak Chahar, Washington Sundar, and more. Australia had a great start to the chase, with D’Arcy Short and Aaron Finch scoring runs. Eventually, Chahal took the wicket of Aaron Finch in the 8th over, dismissing him for 35 runs off 26 balls.

Chahal took the wicket of Aaron Finch in the 8th over.

‌Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

The next wicket was also taken by Chahal, as he dismissed Steven Smith for just 12 runs. This allowed the Indian pacers to jump to the attack. Following the wicket of Smith, Natarajan was able to quickly take the wicket of Glenn Maxwell, putting Australia in a challenging position, at the score of 75/3 in 10.3 overs.

D’Arcy Short and Moises Henriques started to have a partnership, but it was also short-lived. Short lost his wicket to T Natarajan after he had scored 34 runs off 38 balls. This wicket opened the team's way to win, and India went on to take more wickets. Matthew Wade was also dismissed cheaply by Yuzvendra Chahal in this game.

Matthew Wade was also dismissed cheaply by Yuzvendra Chahal in this game.

‌Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

Eventually, Moises Henriques, who looked strong enough to finish the game, lost his wicket to Deepak Chahar in the 18th over. T Natarajan also took his third wicket in the game by dismissing Starc in the 19th over. India ended up winning the game by 11 runs, as Australia failed to chase down the target.

2. India vs Australia Squads for the First T20I

India and Australia will be facing each other in the first T20I, which will be played at Canberra. India was able to come out strong the last time they went against Australia at this venue. This time, the team lacks some much-needed experience in the batting order, but the young talents have looked a lot confident to give their best in the Australian conditions.

India's Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar

Australia's Squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Can India bring up its top-notch performances in the first T20I match against Australia, or will it be the home team to win the game?