Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will play host to the second T20I between India and Australia on Friday (October 31). India are playing a T20I at this venue for the first time since November 2022 and also boast of a brilliant record at the venue, having won four out of six T20Is so far.
With the first T20I being called off due to rain, both teams would want to get a proper game at the MCG and it is unlikely that they will make any chance. India were going well at 97/1 after 9.4 overs when rain stopped play in Canberra. The visitors would be hoping to continue in the same vein and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
As for Australia, even they might not make many changes unless Adam Zampa makes himself available, which looks unlikely as of now. With the T20 World Cup approaching fast, the hosts would want a game to take place to try out their combinations for the rest of the series.
MCG Pitch Report
The surface at the MCG is known to be a good one for batting, but bigger boundaries make it tough for the batters to score massive runs. The 200-run mark has never been breached here in 27 matches and the highest score at the venue is 186 so far. Even though the average first innings score is 141 at the MCG, a score around 170-175 could be par in the second T20I between India and Australia.
IND vs AUS MCG Pitch Report - T20 Numbers Game
Matches Played - 27
Matches won batting first - 11
Matches won bowling first - 15
Average first inns score - 141
Highest score - 186
Lowest score - 74
Highest score chased - 172
Squads
Australia Squad: 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 Squad: 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
