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Bengaluru, February 26
The focus remains firmly on the World Cup but India would be keen to ensure that they don’t get beaten in a home series when they take on Australia in the second and final T20I here tomorrow.
India are 0-1 down after an inexplicably poor batting performance led to a three-wicket loss in the first match in Visakhapatnam. The below-par total of 126 on Sunday denied the bowlers a decent shot at securing a win, even though the Jasprit Bumrah-led attack did all it could to keep the home team in the game till the final over of the match.
India skipper Virat Kohli has already said his squad for the World Cup in May-July is “more or less sorted” but has not ruled out rewarding standout performances over the course of two T20Is and five ODIs against Australia. Considering the captain’s current frame of mind, both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are likely to feature in most of the games against Australia. With the series on the line, it remains to be seen if Shikhar Dhawan is brought back into the side to open with Rohit Sharma or the team retains the opening combination which featured in Visakhapatnam. “Anything is possible now. We want to give game-time to Rahul and Pant to figure out what we need to do in the World Cup,” Kohli said after the first T20I.
India could replace Umesh Yadav with Siddarth Kaul or bring in all-rounder Vijay Shankar to beef-up the batting department. All eyes will once again be on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who struggled to an unbeaten 29 off 37 balls in the first match. Debutant leg-spinner Mayank Markande did not pick up a wicket but bowled well in the first T20I, and the 21-year-old might get another game.
Australia, on the other hand, will fancy a rare series win against India, especially after losing the Test and ODI series to India at home. — PTI
0 Australia and India have never played a T20I in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The tourists registered a three-wicket victory over Bangladesh at the venue during the World T20 in 2016
0 India have not lost a bilateral T20I series against Australia since being defeated in a one-off match at the MCG in January 2008
Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni during a training session ahead of the second T20I against Australia at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. PTI
ICC-BCCI deadlock on tax exemption to continue
New Delhi: Tax exemptions for future global events, broadcasting rights for the World Test Championship and capping participation in private T20 leagues are among the issues that will come up for discussion at the ICC quarterly meeting starting tomorrow in Dubai. There are a host of meetings lined up beginning with the ICC Chief Executives Committee (CEC) meeting where India will be represented by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and ending with the board meeting where acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary will represent BCCI. — PTI