Key events
3rd over: Australia 18-2 (Marsh 6, David 4) Two wickets in two overs for Arshdeep Singh brings Tim David in at No 4. It has been a while since the devastating middle-order batter has had an opportunity to settle into an innings rather than be on the attack from the start.
WICKET! Inglis c Patel b Arshdeep 1 (Australia 14-2)
Arshdeep Singh strikes again as Josh Inglis swipes an inswinger off his pads but picks out Axar Patel on the boundary at fine leg.
2nd over: Australia 12-1 (Marsh 5, Inglis 1) Double trouble for Australia as Jasprit Bumrah takes the ball from the other end. But Mitch Marsh dispatches the first ball of the over through square leg to the rope. Bumrah has the ball moving both ways as Marsh and Inglis each add a single.
1st over: Australia 6-1 (Marsh 0, Inglis 0) Arshdeep Singh makes an immediate impact in his first match in the series with the wicket of the dangerous Travis Head. Josh Inglis joins the action earlier than expected and is happy to see out the rest of the over.
WICKET! Head c Suryakumar b Arshdeep 6 (Australia 6-1)
Travis Head is swinging hard from the first ball of the over and races to six with a boundary at fine leg but skies a slog from wide outside off as the India skipper runs back from mid-off to grasp a tricky catch in windy conditions.
Arshdeep Singh has marked out his run up and Travis Head is waiting at the other end of the wicket as Australia and India get going in Hobart …
Australia have never lost a men’s T20I at Bellerive Oval in Hobart with five wins in all five of the matches they have played there, including against West Indies and Pakistan last year. This is India’s first international at the venue.
India XI
Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Arshdeep Singh and Washington Sundar bolster the India attack as Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav make way. Sanju Samson also falls out of the XI with Jitesh Sharma to take the gloves instead.
Australia XI
Mitchell Marsh (capt), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Matt Short, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Sean Abbott, Matthew Kuhnemann.
Sean Abbott replaces Josh Hazlewood as Australia are otherwise unchanged from the XI that defeated India in Melbourne on Friday night. Glenn Maxwell is back in the squad but will watch on this evening in Hobart.
Toss
A shock at Bellerive Oval as India finally turn the tables and win the toss for the first time in the series with Suryakumar Yadav electing to field first. The India captain expects the ball to do a bit more during the second innings. Mitch Marsh hides any displeasure with having the bat first by talking up the wicket as a “belter”.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the third T20 international between Australia and India at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. Australia have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after a comfortable four-wicket victory on Friday night in Melbourne, while the first T20I was washed out after 9.4 overs of play.
India have found batting tricky in the 1.25 T20s that have been played in the series with only opener Abhishek Sharma looking especially dangerous, though captain Suryakumar Yadav found some form in the first game and Harshit Rana was amongst the runs in the second. But the tourists will be pleased to see the back of Josh Hazlewood with the Australia quick in imperious form but now leaving the squad to ramp up his preparations for the Ashes.
But in swings and roundabouts, Australia’s already powerful batting lineup will be bolstered by the addition of Glenn Maxwell to the squad as the all-rounder returns from a fractured wrist that has kept him sidelined for more than a month. What that means for the Australia XI will be revealed soon.
First ball will be at 7.15pm AEDT in Hobart / 1.45pm IDT. The toss and team news will be coming up shortly. Meanwhile, let us know your thoughts and predictions – shoot me an email or find me @martinpegan on Bluesky or X. Let’s get into it!
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