India’s T20I series against Australia is all about one upmanship in storied rivalry -

Have you recovered from India’s heartbreaking defeat to Australia in the final of the 2023 World Cup? No? Don’t worry. India will take on Australia again – only this time, in a T20I series without the usual razzmatazz of World Cup cricket. But hey, this is T20. Forget the overdose. This is all about thrill. Chill a little. Catch up with a few friends, sit back and watch the magic unfold.

Many eyebrows were raised when people realised India are already playing Australia in the first of five T20Is a mere days after THAT final. Why, again! Why so soon! This series was obviously planned a long time back and it was part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP). Australia played India in the World Cup final on Sunday only down to sheer resilience. Four weeks ago, not many gave the Aussies a chance of making it that far – leave alone winning the World Cup. Think about it – some of us did not give Australia a chance to reach the final.

Australia were sitting at the bottom of the points table at one stage after their opening defeat to India and then a drubbing at the hands of South Africa. So they had to do the most Australian thing imaginable – win 9 on-the-trot, beat South Africa and India and destroy the hopes of the host nation. For well over a month, India were deemed to be the red-hot favourites to win this tournament. No question. This would be a redemption for a colossal defeat in Johannesburg 20 years ago. This had to be it.

It wasn’t to be.

This T20I series will be without the usual colour and flair of India-Australia rivalries. There will be no Virat Kohli, no Rohit Sharma, no Jasprit Bumrah, no Pat Cummins, no David Warner, no Mitchell Marsh and no Mitchell Starc.

But you will see Glenn Maxwell and you will see Suryakumar Yadav, who has been tasked with leading a formidable group of India’s second line. This is not a team to trifled with. They are as eager to make a mark for a side which dominated airwaves for several weeks in the most coveted cricket prize in the world. There is still so much to soak in and so much to enjoy about a series which seemingly could fall flat beside the behemoth that the World Cup was.

India were fearless in this edition of the World Cup. Their batters, who so often put such heavy premium on their wickets, were a by what the captain did. Rohit Sharma was an unstoppable force and that allowed Virat Kohli to be an almost immovable mountain of runs. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have rapidly lowered down the order (never mind the final – one bad game can’t take away the sweet flavours of six weeks).

India must now prove their firepower in the T20 format. Exactly a year ago, India were too timid in their semifinal defeat to England and that perhaps spurred a change in their approach towards the shorter formats. Suryakumar Yadav is a beast in this game and some of the others in the side are desperate to show they could bully Australia as ruthlessly as they bullied some of the teams in the Asian Games.

This is not a bad Australian team at all. Matthew Wade is a dangerous customer. Travis Head is in a dangerous mood. Glenn Maxwell is dangerous. Tim David is a known T20 asset. Up against them will be some of India’s most promising cricketers. They are not untested but they know this is the biggest stage for them to prove their mettle. It sounds cliche but when you are dealing in the big stakes, you want to play against the big boys and shout from the rooftop: We are better than them.

India’s T20I series is important. Don’t even think otherwise. And there will be eyeballs. This may not be about vengeance but this is certainly a little about one-upmanship.

Australia’s T20I squad Matthew Wade (capt), Travis Head, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha

India squad for IND vs AUS T20 series: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer (from 4th T20)