India tour of australia
Preview: India vs Australia 1st T20I at Brisbane
Brisbane, Nov 20 - India will take on Australia in the first T20 International contest between the two sides to be played at the Gabba here on Wednesday. India will enter the series after defeating the West Indies 3-0 at home while the hosts most recently suffered a 21-run loss at the hands of South Africa in a curtailed encounter.
Earlier, Australia were also whitewashed 0-3 in the UAE by Pakistan. The Virat Kohli-led Indian side arrived Down Under sitting second on the ICC's Twenty20 rankings, one ahead of Australia.
India also hold the psychological advantage of winning all the seven T20I series played since November 2017, and their last defeat in the shortest format came against the West Indies last year.
The last time India played a T20I series in Australia in January 2016, it was a Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led India that blanked the hosts 3-0.
Going into the series opener on Wednesday, India will look to keep their momentum against the Australians, still trying to find a key match-winner given the bans on former skipper Steve Smith and opener David Warner.
India have announced their 12-man shortlist ahead of the opening encounter, with Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Shreyas Iyer and Umesh Yadav being the exclusions.
The batting department looks settled after Shikhar Dhawan bounced back to form in the recently-concluded series against the Windies, while Rohit Sharma has also been amongst runs.
Skipper Virat Kohli, who was rested for the series against the Caribbean side is back to lead the team. With his consistency at the top of the order, the Delhi right-hander has been a thorn to most opposition side in the recent years.
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