Four days after the two teams faced each other in the one-day World Cup final, India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and decided to field against Australia in the opening match of a Twenty20 series on Thursday.
After Australia defeated India on Sunday to win their sixth ODI World Cup, some of its victorious players have returned to play in the five-match series that gets underway in Visakhapatnam.
The games serve as a springboard for the T20 World Cup in June of the following year.
The only two Indian players from their ODI World Cup team that advanced undefeated to the final only to lose by six wickets in Ahmedabad were Suryakumar and wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan.
In preparation for the shorter format showcase tournament that will take place in the West Indies and the United States, Australia, captained by Matthew Wade, has rested its players from the One-Day International competition, including Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, and Adam Zampa.
Prior to the World Cup, in September, India hosted a three-match series between Australia and India, which the home team won 2-1.
Groups
India’s squad includes Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan (wk), and Suryakumar Yadav (capt).
Australia’s lineup includes: Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, and Matthew Wade (capt, wk).