IND vs AUS 2nd T20 MCG Stadium Pitch Report: India face Australia in the second T20I of the five-match series between the two sides at the colossal Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. The series had got off to a false start in Canberra on Wednesday with rain ending the match after just 9.4 overs. India captain Suryakumar Yadav got some much needed runs under his belt before the players were forced off the field.
Suryakumar’s form hasn’t hit the highs since he took over captaincy of the Indian T20I team as it did before that. However, on Friday, he smashed 39 in 24 balls and showed glimpses of the shots that led to him being recognised as the best T20 batter in the world. India were placed strongly at 97 for the loss of one wicket in 9.4 overs, with Suryakumar’s deputy Shubman Gill on 37 off 20 balls, when rain had its final say.
IND vs AUS weather report
Unfortunately for fans, it could be more of the same in Melbourne with chances of showers and a possible thunderstorm throughout the day. According to AccuWeather, there is an 87 percent probability of precipitation and 99 percent cloud cover expected in the city on Friday. Probability of thunderstorms stand at 17 percent. The match is scheduled to start at 1.45pm local time. The probability of precipitation in the afternoon time itself, which is when the match is scheduled to take place, stands at 71 percent with 1.4mm of rain predicted.
IND vs AUS pitch report
This will be the first match to be hosted by the MCG this season. The ground is known to be slightly more friendly to bowlers than what is usually the case in T20Is. Moreover, the sheer size of the grounds also tends to be helpful for the bowling side. However, fast bowler Nathan Ellis said before the match that there have been some big-scoring BBL matches at the MCG of late. “I feel like every Big Bash game has been 180-plus [totals] there and you had good value for runs, whilst being a little bit in it for the bowlers,” Ellis said.
Squads:
Australia: Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis(w), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Matthew Short, Ben Dwarshuis, Tanveer Sangha
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma
