Welcome to live coverage of Australia vs India in the second T20. First ball: 11:30pm AEST – follow all the action in our blog below!
Aaron Finch might have retired from ODIs, but the heat is continuing to build on the Australian captain ahead of the nation’s T20 World Cup defence.
This time, however, it’s not just the opener’s output that is putting him under the microscope, but the nation’s best young cricketer Cameron Green, with Friday night’s second T20 against India in Nagpur yet another World Cup audition.
The youngster, who was left out of Australia’s World Cup squad, smashed 61 off 30 to get the visitors off to a flyer as they successfully chased down 6-208 to claim the first of three T20s.
Former Australian captain Adam Gilchrist said his development was “so exciting” for the game.
“Look out this summer,” he said on SEN.
“The development and maturing of Cam Green before our eyes is just so exciting.
“You’ve almost got to suppress your excitement a little bit because you don’t want to overshoot it and put pressure on him.”
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Following Australia’s thrilling four-wicket win, wicket-keeper batter Matthew Wade revealed the side always intended for emerging all-rounder Green to open.
“The plan was always for Green to open today,” Wade said.
“The coach and captain feel like that’s the best spot for him to find his feet at T20 level, and he showed tonight that it’s going to be the spot for him going forward for a while.
“One, two, three are the positions that if something went wrong he would probably come in and fill.
“Josh Inglis can fill spots from three to the middle order. We probably see Greeny as that top order player if something happens and we needed to pull him (in) for the World Cup.”
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At the same time, out-of-sorts captain Finch managed just a quick-fire 22 and although his innings was hardly a fail, it once again shined the spotlight on those performing around him.
Finch retired from ODIs after his slump because more than a lean patch during the Top End matches against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
Nonetheless, the Australian captain has been backed in to lead the nation for their home World Cup defence next month.
Yet, with every passing innings the pressure continues to pile up.
The final two T20s against India, who are one of the heavy favourites to challenge Australia for the World Cup, shape as pivotal matches for Finch.
Bowlers Nathan Ellis (3-30) and Josh Hazlewood (2-39) starred in the four-wicket win, while Pat Cummins (0-47) and Green (1-46-3) were smashed with the ball.
With the bat, Steve Smith (35 off 24) continued his purple patch, debutant Tim David (18 off 14) showed a glimpse of what he can do while Wade finished off the match in style by belting an unbeaten 21-ball 45 to secure the win.
The match also shapes as a crucial one for David, who was the bolter in Australia’s World Cup squad.
T20 Tour of India 2022
September 20: Australia won by four wickets
September 23: Second T20, Nagpur, midnight Sept 24 AEST
September 25: Third T20, Hyderabad, midnight Sept 26 AEST
All matches will be shown live on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports
Australia squad: Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.
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