Team News: India
Rahul (51 off 24 balls), Kishan hammered a 46-ball 70 before getting retired hurt before Rishabh Pant (29* off 14) and Hardik Pandya (12* off 10) showed their finishing skills to guide India home.
Rahul - who has cemented his position as the second opener for the showpiece event due to his imperious batting performance in the IPL 2021 - started from where he left as he made the batting look effortless.
In the bowling department, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah emerged as the pick of the bowlers for India as the rest of the bowlers went for runs.
The spinners were also taken to the cleaners English batters and against the Aussies, captain Virat Kohli would be looking to test the remaining weapons in his arsenal to fine-tune ahead of the super 12 stage.
Team News: Australia
Australia, on the other hand, will also be raring to tick all the boxes before starting their campaign in the multi-nation tournament. The Aaron Finch-led unit possesses one of the best pace attack going into the tournament and the skipper would be looking to test them against a formidable batting attack.
Some of the Aussie players were participating in the IPL 2021 and they would also be looking to warm up nicely. Big names like David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazelwood, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith were all in action during the IPL and they would be eager to start on a confident note in the marquee event. Finding their rhythm against a quality Indian side would boost their morale.
Aussie captain used only five of his regular bowlers Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Aston Agar, Mitchell Marsh and Adam Zampa in the practice game and barring Marsh everyone did exceedingly well.
In the batting department, everyone made some contribution but there wasn't a single standout performer against a quality NZ bowling attack. Warner was dismissed for a duck and against India, he would be looking to find his form.
Squads
India squad:
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy.
Australia squad:
Aaron Finch (C), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (VC), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Match Details
Where to watch:
The match will be streamed live on Star Sports 1 HD/SD, Star Sports Hindi, Disney+Hostar.
Timings:
The match starts at 3:30 PM (IST).
Venue: Dubai