Key events
Australia and India have both been left frustrated as the first T20 international of the five-match series was abandoned after 9.4 overs in Canberra. But there was just enough time for a 24-ball cameo from Suryakumar Yadav that suggested the India captain is ready to rediscover his best form on an international stage.
Mitch Marsh won the toss and elected to field before the tourists set out to make a fast start with India opener Abhishek Sharma (19 off 14) taking the attack to the Australia bowlers from the first ball. Abhishek clubbed four boundaries in an entertaining if all too brief knock before failing to pick a slower ball from Nathan Ellis’s bag of tricks. The India batter’s mis-timed drive popped up to Tim David at mid-off as Suryakumar came to the crease and picked up where the emerging opener had left off.
Players were forced from the field for the first time after Australia had restricted India to 43 for 1 from five overs. But Suryakumar (39 not out) and opener Shubman Gill (37 not out off 20) caught fire when play resumed. The India pair put on another 54 runs from 4.4 overs – including 15 from the four balls in what would be the last stretch of play – before the heavens opened up once again. The match was eventually abandoned with India on 97 for 1 and in command.
The washout meant a sold out crowd at Manuka Oval missed an opportunity to see India quick Jasprit Bumrah back in action for the first time since terrorising Australia during the Test series last summer. But Bumrah should be raring to go when the two sides meet again on Friday for the second T20I in Melbourne.
Match abandoned
Unfortunately – but unsurprisingly – the first T20 between Australia and India has been abandoned.
The umpire’s are out on Manuka Oval – worryingly under large black umbrellas – as they survey the conditions across the field and around the under-cover wicket area. No sign of a decision being made but the clock is ticking on whether there will be enough time for Australia to bat a minimum of five overs to ensure a result.
The covers are still on in Canberra and our learned friends at Cricinfo have run the numbers on what Australia will be chasing if – and when, surely – play does resume, depending on how many overs India are sent out to bowl.
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5 overs – 71
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6 overs – 83
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7 overs – 95
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8 overs – 106
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9 overs – 117
The rain was easing for a brief period in Canberra but has picked up again just in time for India’s innings to come to a close on 97 for 1 from 9.4 overs. It hasn’t quite been confirmed yet but the next step looks set to be working out what Australia will chase.
It hopefully won’t be too long before play resumes in Canberra but do pop over to follow the Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final between England and South Africa. The Proteas have made a strong start with Laura Wolvaardt in ominous touch.
Suryakumar is taking Nathan Ellis to the cleaners with a four, four, wide, SIX and dot ball before the heavens open and the players scamper to the dug out. India are on top at 97 for 1 from 9.4 of their 18 overs.
9th over: India 82-1 (Gill 37, Suryakumar 25) SIX! Shubman Gill gets down on one knee to club Kuhnemann over the fence at deep mid-wicket. The right-hander steps back to give himself room to open up as the spinner turned the screw through the initial five deliveries with hard and flat rockets.
8th over: India 70-1 (Gill 29, Suryakumar 21) DROP! Josh Philippe is used to fielding with the gloves on but grasses a catch on the run at mid-on. He’s done all the hard work to reach the lofted shot from Suryakumar and gets two hands to the ball but it bounces out. How costly will that be? A tidy over from Xavier Bartlett as the young quick goes for seven runs. But, oh, would could have been!
7th over: India 63-1 (Gill 27, Suryakumar 17) Adam Zampa is out of this game due to personal reasons with Matthew Kuhnemann given his second opportunity in a T20I. A bit of turn early for the left-armer. But Suryakumar gets down on one knee and reaches to the pitch of the ball to sweep a boundary past the fielder at deep square. India have put on 10 an over without much effort since the resumption.
6th over: India 53-1 (Gill 22, Suryakumar 12) The India batters get their eye back in with three singles before Marcus Stoinis overpitches with an attempted yorker and the full toss is duly dispatched by Shubman Gill through cover for four.
Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill are back in the middle as we prepare to resume with each team to face 18 overs. Marcus Stoinis is ready to rock with the ball …
Australia’s women’s side will face India in a semi-final at the Women’s World Cup tomorrow while on an unbeaten run at the tournament. But there are already winners of the field with five players passing the landmark of $1m in annual earnings as the WPL takes off.
“Let’s be honest, the Australian cricketers are the best performers on the most consistent team in world cricket, so you would like to think that in this auction process they will continue to be the case, but there’s no guarantee of that,” Alana King’s manager Cameron Richardson said.
Across the ditch in New Zealand, England have slumped to yet another ODI defeat on the road as they were dismissed for 175 without really firing a shot. The Black Caps chased down the target without too much trouble, while England can at least take something from Jofra Archer showing promising signs on his return to the side with three wickets.
We’re getting closer to play resuming with the game now reduced to 18 overs each. The powerplay will be the 5.2 overs, which means India will face two more deliveries with the field up.
Great Australian Bat Off update: Steve Smith will captain Australia in the first Test against England with Pat Cummins sidelined with a back injury. The batting great is comfortable coming off limited preparation these days, suggesting he only needs two hits to fine tune. The 36-year-old isn’t leaving much room for improvement after knocking out 118 for New South Wales against Queensland today. But NSW opener Sam Konstas left a ball that took out his middle stump when on 10 and seems to be falling well down the pecking order for the Ashes.
There have been mixed results for the other contenders hoping to force their way into the Australia Test XI, with Tasmania opener Jake Weatherald dismissed for a duck yesterday while Beau Webster made 11. Cameron Green was out without scoring for Western Australia and did not bowl against South Australia. Queensland – at that means Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Renshaw – are yet to bat against NSW as the plot thickens.
Australia have selected a strong lineup for this T20 against India, and the earlier games in the series, though do of course have one eye on the Ashes beginning on 21 November. Scott Boland is all but certain to replace captain Pat Cummins in the bowling attack but there are still huge question marks over which six batters will play in the first Test.
With Australia’s initial Ashes squad expected to be named at the end of the Sheffield Shield round currently under way, we look at the batters pushing for a spot in the XI to take on England in Perth.
Marcus Stoinis takes the ball to send down the final over of the powerplay. But the weather has other ideas as the rain begins to get heavier and the umpire’s make the call to pause play.
5th over: India 43-1 (Gill 16, Suryakumar 8) SIX! Suryakumar Yadav hammers Josh Hazlewood from outside off and over square leg and the far boundary for the first six of the innings. It is some shot to have in the bag of tricks but must be horrible to bowl to. Hazlewood had earlier greeted Suryakumar with a bouncer as the India batter held back on pulling out his trademark ramp shot and instead ended up on his back. A tidy over otherwise as Hazlewood chips away at his typical line and length no matter the format.
4th over: India 36-1 (Gill 16, Suryakumar 1) Nathan Ellis picks up a crucial wicket as Abhishek Sharma was out to live or die by the sword. The Australia quick almost had Shubman Gill out lbw earlier in the over but for the review going with umpire’s call for height over leg stump. Gill responds in the best possible way with a cracking cover drive for four.
WICKET! Abhishek c David b Ellis 19 (India 35-1)
Abhishek Sharma has lit up the T20 in Canberra but all good things must come to an end. After throwing his bat at anything and everything it is a tame dismissal as the 25-year-old chips to Tim David at mid-off. Abhishek mis-read a slower ball from Nathan Ellis but that was some clever bowling.
3rd over: India 26-0 (Abhishek 19, Gill 7) Shubman Gill is batting in his partner’s shadow but gets the runs flowing with a top edge over the keeper to the rope. Hazlewood did everything right by bowling back of a length but is unfortunate not to pick up a wicket. Abhishek ruins what was otherwise a tidy over with a glance off his hip over short fine leg for another boundary.
2nd over: India 17-0 (Abhishek 15, Gill 2) Xavier Bartlett is thrown the new ball after impressing in his only ODI against India with three wickets in Adelaide. But he’s facing a fresh challenge in Canberra with Abhishek Sharma on the attack. The 25-year-old batter punishes a short ball with a swat over point to the rope, and adds another boundary with a powerful pull shot.
1st over: India 8-0 (Abhishek 7, Gill 1) Abhishek Sharma charges down the pitch at the first ball from Josh Hazlewood but the experienced quick sees him coming. Abhishek reconsiders and nudges a cut to cover without finding a way through. After a lengthy delay to attend to a bright light in the batter’s sight, Abhishek picks up where he left off. A straight drive barely clears Mitch Marsh at mid-on for two runs, then Abhishek ends the over charging again. This time he hammers Hazlewood across the line for the first boundary.
Josh Hazlewood has the white ball in his grasp with Abhishek Sharma on strike as the game is about to begin at Manuka Oval in Canberra …
While the addition of Jasprit Bumrah would be good news for any side, India are missing Shreyas Iyer after vice-captain fell awkwardly while taking a catch against Australia in the third T20.
India XI
Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Suryakumar Yadav confirms the huge news that Jasprit Bumrah returns for India after sitting out the ODI series. But the ever-impressive Nitish Kumar Reddy is out of the initial three T20s in the series due to a thigh injury.
Australia XI
Mitchell Marsh (capt), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.
Australia have named a powerful batting lineup with big-hitters across the top six and Josh Philippe a more than capable No 7 even without the keeping gloves.
Toss
Australia captain Mitch Marsh wins the toss and once again elects to field first. Suryakumar Yadav takes the reins for India in this format and says he is happy to bat first while hoping that the pitch slows down in the second innings.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the first T20 international between Australia and India at a sold out Manuka Oval in Canberra. Australia were quick out of the blocks in the three-match ODI series between the same sides with a pair of comprehensive victories before Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma signed off in style in the final 50-over game.
India have a much more ominous record against Australia in T20s with seven wins in their past eight meetings in the format stretching back three years. The most recent of those losses might still sting Australia as India knocked them out of the T20 World Cup last year.
Australia and India now have an eye on the next edition of the 20-over showpiece event starting in February next year with this the first of five T20s in the series between the powerhouse sides. The tourists will be bolstered by the addition to the squad of Jasprit Bumrah, who terrorised Australia in the Test series last summer, while the hosts boast a strong batting lineup.
First ball will be at 7.15pm local time in Canberra and AEDT / 1.45pm IDT. The toss and team news will be coming up shortly. Meanwhile, let us know your thoughts and predictions – shoot me an email or find me @martinpegan on Bluesky or X. Let’s get into it!
