Both India and Australia's practice sessions on Thursday ahead of the second T20I in Nagpur were called off due to rain and wet outfield. "India’s practice session has been cancelled due to rain," BCCI said. The rain was not heavy, it was more like a drizzle in the morning but it was enough to dampen the practice area. With the T20 World Cup barely a few weeks away both teams decided not to risk their players.
The forecast for Friday is also not that bright. It is likely to remain overcast throughout the day and it shouldn't surprise anyone if drizzles cause stoppages or a delay in the scheduled 7 pm start.
Australia will head into the contest with sky-high confidence after they pulled off their highest successful run-chase against India in a T20I. Thanks to a half-century from Cameron Green, who opened the batting in any format for the first time in his career and Matthew Wade, who played brilliant cameo batting at No.7, Australia knocked off the 2019-run target in 19.2 overs with four wickets in hand to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
India's batting was in full flow. Opener KL Rahul walked the talk with a sparkling 55 off 35 balls. Suryakumar Yadav made a useful contribution but it was Hardik Pandya's blistering unbeaten 71 off 30 balls that took India past 200.
India's bowling, however, let them down again. Minus Jasprit Bumrah, India's death-overs bowling appeared toothless. The star pacer is set to return to the XI for the Nagpur match to lessen the pressure on pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose failures in death overs since Asia Cup 2022 have received a lot of criticism. Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's economy and lack of wickets is another concern. It will be interesting how much of a long rope he receives despite his lacklustre run recently. Harshal Patel's return was disappointing and he will be looking forward to make up for it in the second T20I.
{{/usCountry}}India's bowling, however, let them down again. Minus Jasprit Bumrah, India's death-overs bowling appeared toothless. The star pacer is set to return to the XI for the Nagpur match to lessen the pressure on pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose failures in death overs since Asia Cup 2022 have received a lot of criticism. Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's economy and lack of wickets is another concern. It will be interesting how much of a long rope he receives despite his lacklustre run recently. Harshal Patel's return was disappointing and he will be looking forward to make up for it in the second T20I.
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