🏏India vs Australia, 5th T20I: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru 🏏

🏏India vs Australia, 5th T20I: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru  🏏 

India are set to face Australia in the final t20I of the ongoing five-game T20I series 2023 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru today. 

With the series already secured, Team India will aim to conclude on a positive note before the upcoming T20Is against the hosts, South Africa.

On the other hand, Australia finds themselves in a position with nothing to lose. Matthew Wade and his team will be eager to depart from Indian soil on a triumphant note.

India and Australia find themselves on a very similar path. They've been on the field just four days after a draining - both physically and emotionally - ODI World Cup final and yet have had to find takeaways and tick boxes with eyes set on the next big event in less than seven months' time.

The wounds of the final were still perhaps fresh for Suryakumar Yadav when the two teams attempted to hastily turn the page over and kick on in search of a fresh start towards glory. 

He said it as much: "It is difficult. It will take time. I mean, it can't be that you get up the next morning and you forget everything that happened."

The absurdity of playing cricket so soon after such a fixture was not lost on Australia either. They afforded rest to some of their stars - as did the BCCI - while a few others were allowed to head back home midway. Mitchell Marsh, who got to skip the series, was rather vocal about the situation, while speaking to SEN radio in Australia.

"Yeah it was pretty outrageous for the guys that had to stay behind. It's a fine line because we've got to respect the fact we're playing for Australia and it's a series against India, which is always huge. But there's also the human side of it, the boys have just won a World Cup and probably deserve to celebrate for a while and get home to their families. It's an interesting one. You'd hope there's not too many of those series put on after big tournaments again."

This is the last of the five T20 cricket matches in the series.

The Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch is conducive to batting excellence, offering favorable conditions. Although there might be some support for both fast bowlers and spinners, the small boundaries pose a significant challenge. 

One can anticipate a match with lots of runs, and it’s probable that the captain winning the toss will opt to bowl first. The pitch’s flat characteristics and the confined boundaries make opting to chase a strategically sound decision.
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is known for being a batters’ paradise. Its short boundaries help batters secure higher totals for their teams. Spinners, however, get their chance during the middle overs and claim wickets.

What to expect: After Raipur dimmed the run-making in a series of massive scores, Bengaluru will once again make the batters smile and the bowlers sweat. It's also a venue where visiting teams with batting might come and flex it better than the hosts, as the win tally shows: India have won just 2 of 7 completed T20Is at this venue.

India vs Australia head-to-head records

India and Australia have played 30 T20s so far. India has won 18 of those, and Australia 11. There was one match that did not produce any results. In the last 5 T20 matches between these teams, India have won 4 and Australia 1.

The average 1st innings score at this venue in the last 20 matches is 157 runs. The team batting second at this venue has won 70% of its matches. We predict that the team winning the toss will bowl first here.

Pace or Spin?

The venue is suited for spinners.

IND vs AUS weather report

The temperature at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is expected to hover around 24.5C with 50% humidity.

Team news:

India

Washington Sundar, who will soon be on the flight to South Africa for the six white-ball games, should get a look-in after warming the bench for four games. While they are at it, India could also offer an opportunity to Shivam Dube - the only other member of the squad who hasn't played in this series.

Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh/Shivam Dube, Axar Patel/Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

Australia

Chris Green debuted in Raipur but could make way for one of the two quicks on the bench - Nathan Ellis or Kane Richardson - at a venue that chews up and spits out spinners mercilessly.

Probable XI: Josh Philippe, Travis Head, Ben McDermott, Aaron Hardie, Tim David, Matthew Short, Matthew Wade(w/c), Ben Dwarshuis, Kane Richardson/Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha

A few players to watch:

Ruturaj Gaikwad: India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has racked up 213 runs in four matches of the Australia tour of India, five T20I Series 2023, at an average of 71 and a strike rate of 166.41. He has scored one half-century and one ton with a high score of 123 not out.

Matthew Wade: Australia's Matthew Wade has scored 106 runs in four matches in this series. He has a strike rate of 170.96.

Ravi Bishnoi: The India bowler scalped seven wickets in four matches. Ravi Bishnoi's best figures for this edition is 3/32 and his average is 19.28.

Jason Behrendorff: The bowler from Australia has picked up four wickets in three matches so far at an average of 17.25. Jason Behrendorff's 2/32 is his finest bowling performance in this series.

The last five T20 matches have seen India win on four occasions and Australia in one match. The highest score in these five games is 235 by India while the lowest has been 154 by Australia.

India vs Australia, fifth T20I prediction

India have won four of the last five matches against Australia and will go into this fixture as the favourites.

Did You Know:

- In his last eight T20I innings against India, Matthew Wade has scored 333 runs at an average of 111 and a strike rate of 174.34. He's also fifth on the list of most runs against India in T20Is.

- Shivam Dube came into this series with 190 runs in 7 Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy innings for Mumbai at a strike rate of 129.25.

What they said:

"Just to continue to learn from the guys who are already established in the team and to have depth in the squad is really key as the T20 World Cup is round the corner." - Matthew Wade

Marsh has a point, and Suryakumar deserves a bit of empathy, but this is international cricket in 2023, in a nutshell: blank slates come at you faster than you can comprehend. Today's game comes without the pressure of winning the series for the two sides, and yet carries context. This will be both India and Australia's fifth out of just 11 T20Is they play (respectively) in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup next June. And it comes right before they have to start splitting their focus with the ongoing World Test Championship cycle while figuring out the nuts and bolts of their T20I team composition.

India secured a resounding victory in the fourth T20I against Australia, sealing the five-match series.

It is worth noting that both teams have opted to field their secondary players for this series. Australia initially included some seasoned players from their victorious 2023 ODI World Cup squad in the first three matches, but they were subsequently released before the Raipur encounter. This presents an excellent opportunity for both India and Australia to assess the depth of their squads ahead of the T20 World Cup in June 2024.

Ruturaj Gaikwad is the leading run scorer across both teams from the first four games of the series and the right-handed opener is our tip for India’s highest run scorer in the fifth T20I. Ravi Bishnoi has taken 7 wickets so far.

Travis Head has enjoyed playing against India this year and has been able to dominate the bowling attack in his short innings in the last two games. The left-hander has been in excellent form over the last 18 months, and he is a strong choice for Australia’s highest run scorer against India. 

Jason Behrendorff has taken 4 wickets and bowled with exceptional control during the series, he is our pick for Australia’s top wicket taker in this clash.

With scores of 58, 123 not out and 32 from his last three innings, 

India have been far too strong overall for Australia in the series and come into this game with a 3-1 lead. Their only defeat came due to an incredible innings from Glenn Maxwell and it would be a big surprise if India were unable to make it 4-1 with another victory in this final match.

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