India and Australia conclude their five-match T20I series on Sunday evening in Bengaluru. After winning by 20 runs in Raipur on Friday, India clinched the series with one game to spare while also securing their 14th consecutive home win in the T20I series. This final game of the series begins at 7pm local time on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Considering that this series was played in the shadow of the 2023 Cricket World Cup, it has delivered four entertaining matches so far and many players were keen to use this as a stepping stone towards the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup.
India have now won 14 consecutive T20I series at home and it is their ability to deliver and play top-class spin that makes the difference between the teams.
Chris Green made his international debut in Raipur on Friday but neither India nor Australia are expected to make any changes ahead of that game.
India were far too strong for Australia in the series overall and went 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 huge surprise if India couldn't get to 4-1 with another win in this final.
Australia will likely field a team with good skills but will certainly not have a squad full of experienced internationals ahead of Sunday's game. Guys like Matthew Wade, Travis Head and Jason Behrendorff are strong players, but it would be a big surprise if they could lead the team to victory.
Match Preview
The stage is set for the final showdown in the 5th T20I between India (IND) and Australia (AUS), marking the climax of Australia's tour of India in 2023 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. India leads the series 3-1 after registering a thrilling 20-run win over Australia in the previous game.
Australia chose to bowl after winning the toss in the 4th T20I. India's opening batters, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rituraj Gaikwad, started their innings with a strong 50-run partnership. However, Jaiswal's dismissal by Aaron Hardie and subsequent wickets of Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav disrupted India's momentum. Gaikwad along with Rinku Singh reconstructed the innings with another 48-run partnership. Despite Gaikwad's dismissal, Singh and Jitesh Sharma contributed to India's total. Nevertheless, the team endured a series of quick dismissals and posted a score of 174/9 in 20 overs, with Ben Dwarshuis securing three crucial wickets for Australia.
Australia's fightback started steadily, thanks to the promising 40-run opening partnership from Travis Head and Josh Phillipe. However, the introduction of Spin led to Phillipe's departure, which is attributed to Ravi Bishnoi. Axar Patel then sacked Head, changing Australia's course. Tim David and Ben Mcdermott formed a 35-year partnership but failed to maintain the momentum required. Although Matt Short and Matthew Wade tried to steady themselves, their strike rate hampered their pursuit and Australia finished on 154/7 in 20 overs. The crucial wickets of Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar were instrumental in India's defense.
Pitch Report
The pitch conditions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium promise a thrilling encounter, providing a conducive environment for batters and providing favorable conditions for spinners. Given the nature of the track, teams may prefer to chase it, setting the stage for an exciting competition.
Toss Prediction
The team that wins the toss will definitely want to go first. At Chinnaswamy Stadium, defending a score can be quite difficult.
Weather Report
According to the weather forecast, there is a 9% chance of rain in this game. The temperature will be in the mid to low 20s throughout the game, with humidity above 75% from the start to the end of the T20I.
Head to Head
India and Australia have played 29 T20 internationals against each other, with India winning 18 of them. With five wins in the last seven games against Australia, their current form also seems to be on India's side.
Match Prediction
It was a very entertaining series that provided numerous opportunities for young players to play at the highest level. However, India were clearly the best team as only Glenn Maxwell's heroics could give Australia a win in the four games. Our prediction is that India will be too strong once again and will pull out the win to end the series 4-1 in Bengaluru.
India beat Australia in 5th T20
Venue Details
The pitch in Bengaluru is ideal for high scoring and with many top batters having points to prove, it wouldn't be a big surprise to see two teams score more than 200 again.
Betting Tips
We believe that India is the team that has the backing in this competition too. The odds are a little lower than we would have liked, especially considering that India could defend the overall ranking with a weak bowling line-up at Chinnaswamy, but overall India are definitely the better team.
It has enough power to overcome the weaknesses of bowling. We've already seen this during the series and expect the same in this finale.
Bet on India to win.
Probable Playing XI
India
Yashasvi Jaiswal, RD Gaikwad, S Iyer, SA Yadav (C), RK Singh, JM Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, DL Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
Australia
TM Head, JR Philippe, BR McDermott, AM Hardie, Tim David, MW Short, MS Wade (C), Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Green, Tanveer Sangha, JP Behrendorff
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India Key Players
Suryakumar Yadav – the right-handed batsman has impressed with his captaincy and has come to the wicket with an attacking intent in this series. He has an average of 45.00 from 54 T20I innings.
Ruturaj Gaikwad – The 26-year-old right-hander, who scored an international top score of 71 before this series, has taken his game to a new level with his consistency in the last three games.
Ravi Bishnoi - the young spinner has proven his ability at a high level in this series and is not only the best wicket-taker but has also bowled during the powerplay and consistently dismissed top quality players.
Axar Patel - the bowling all-rounder was extremely unlucky to pick up an injury ahead of the 2023 Cricket World Cup but he is already looking back to his best and picked up the Player of the Match award on Friday.
Australia Key players
Travis Head - Since joining the team in the last two games, the left-handed opener has hit 13 fours and a six and put the Indian bowling unit on the defensive in both games.
Matthew Wade – it was a difficult task for the experienced goalkeeper and batsman to lead this team with constant personnel changes. However, his batting was consistent and he scored over 100 runs in the series.
Ben Dwarshuis - the 29-year-old left-arm medium-pace bowler got the big wicket of Suryakumar Yadav before returning to dismiss Jitesh Sharma and Axar Patel.
Jason Behrendorff - the left-arm pace bowler was wicketless until the last over of the innings on Friday before he took two wickets and conceded just five runs.
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