The India vs Australia 1st T20I of the India tour of Australia 2025 is set to begin shortly at the Manuka Oval, Canberra, with Australia winning the toss and opting to field first.
Australia’s skipper Mitchell Marsh confirmed the decision, citing favourable batting conditions early on:
“We are going to bowl first. Looks like a good wicket, always is when we come here. It’s exciting — all teams are now pushing their bill towards the World Cup.”
On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav, leading the Indian side, shared that the team was keen to bat first:
“We wanted to bat first as the wicket could get slightly slower as the game goes on. Everyone knows their roles really well.”
Pitch Report
According to Parthiv Patel, the surface at Manuka Oval has a nice covering of grass, ensuring good bounce and carry early on. However, dew could come into play later, making it batting-friendly throughout the evening.
“It should come nicely onto the bat, but dew might influence the second innings,” Patel noted.
Playing XI (India)
- Abhishek Sharma
- Shubman Gill
- Suryakumar Yadav (c)
- Tilak Varma
- Sanju Samson (wk)
- Shivam Dube
- Axar Patel
- Harshit Rana
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Varun Chakaravarthy
- Jasprit Bumrah
Start Time & Venue
- Venue: Manuka Oval, Canberra
- Local Start Time: 7:15 PM (Canberra)
- IST: 1:45 PM
Australia’s decision to chase adds early intrigue to the opening match of this much-anticipated T20I series, with both sides eyeing strong starts in their World Cup preparations.
