Team India embarked on the T20Is journey in Australia on Friday and they started their campaign on a winning note. After losing the ODI series 2-1, the team needed a much-needed boost to lift their spirits and the win in the first T20 will exactly do that. High on confidence, team India will be playing their second T20I on Sunday. However, there will be another Indian team that will be in action in Australia on the same day.
The biggest challenge for team India awaits as the Test series will commence from December 17. The team will have to put up a great show if they want to compete with the well-settled Aussies in their home-ground. To get acquainted with the conditions, India A will be playing warm-up games against Australia A. The tour has been planned in such a manner that two days of the first warm-up game will befall on the same days as the remainder two T20Is.
Team India A will play two warm-up matches
All the India’s Test specialists along with new entrants will be featuring in the warm-up game that will take place from December 6-8. Ajinkya Rahane will be leading the troop. A lot of India’s Test squad members have not played in Australian conditions before and this will be a tough challenge for them to adapt to the conditions and perform. The warm-up games will be crucial before the Test series begins.
Team India won the first T20I against Australia by 11 runs with brilliant performances from Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal and T Natrajan. For the uninitiated, Chahal was not part of the playing XI and he came in as the concussion substitute for Jadeja which turned into a blessing in disguise for the team. Chahal took three wickets in the match and he was the one who gave India their first breakthrough.
Jadeja was already limping because of the hamstring injury and shortly after that he was hit on the head while batting. Though he batted till the end, he was clearly in pain. Following the concussion, he has been ruled out of the T20 series and pacer Shardul Thakur has been roped in to replace the all-rounder.