The fifth T20I of the series being played between India and Australia will take place at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This game comes on the back of the squad announcements of the Indian team for their tour of South Africa, which is to take place over the winter.
India will want to wrap this game up as well as the series with a comprehensive win, but the Aussies will not make it easy for them at all. The Aussies have a formidable side at their disposal, and this makes them one of the favourites to win this game.
India, of course, stand a much stronger chance of winning this game than their opponents do. Australia will have to play out of their skins in order to win this game, and some of their top players will want to make use of this experience in order to prepare for the high-scale Big Bash League about to start back home.
Glenn Maxwell, as always, will be the man in focus for the Kangaroos in this game. The other World Cuppers in their lineup, including the likes of Travis Head and Adam Zampa, will also have to play crucial roles in order to give themselves a good chance of winning this game.
India stand a good chance of winning this match, but Australia are likely to challenge them and push them out of their comfort zone. The Indians will want to test more of the players on their bench before committing themselves to a fixed starting lineup.
Probable Playing XIs
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna.
Australia: Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Aaron Hardle, Matthew Wade (c), Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Nathan Ellis, Tanveer Sangha.
Key Players
Prasidh Krishna: It is very rare that fast bowlers make this list, but Prasidh Krishna has earned his right into it. He knows how to hit the deck hard as well as change his lengths as and when required. Krishna’s ability to swing the ball when it is new and then add variations when it gets old works extremely well in his favour.
Travis Head: Hero of the World Cup final, Travis Head, is likely to push India out of their nice little zone once again. The southpaw is renowned to play shots that make his opponents comfortable. His ability to take on any bowler at any time of the game makes him a very good player to take on.
Match Prediction
India are the overwhelming favourites to win this game against Australia. Although Glenn Maxwell knows the Chinnaswamy stadium all too well, India have an advantage given how nicely they are set up in the series. The small boundaries at the venue will work well in either side’s favour, so the team that ends up hitting more sixes will be able to win. India have a huge advantage.
