2nd T20I: Pant misses out for India, Tim David makes Australia debut

Rishabh Pant was benched for the first T20I against Australia at the PCA Stadium, Mohali on Tuesday. India went with Dinesh Karthik as the designated wicketkeeper for the game. 

Australia captain Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bowl. For the Kangaroos, explosive batter Tim David makes his debut. 

The Pant vs Karthik debate has made headlines for months. Both players are part of India’s T20 World Cup squad. Skipper Rohit Sharma, at the toss, said that the team will look to express itself against Australia. Prime pacer Jasprit Bumrah is not playing the game. 

Also read: What does India’s ‘One Blue Jersey’ symbolise?

“It is an opportunity to test ourselves. Every game is a big game to learn. We got to learn so much in the last six-eight months on how to win games. This series will be no different for us to express ourselves. Looking at what happened in the Asia Cup, we had a chance to reflect on where we went wrong. This gives us an opportunity to correct ourselves as a group. Nothing changes in terms of our approach. Unfortunately there are some injuries in the squad. Bumrah is not playing, he will take a game’s break and probably come back in the second and the third game. We have Axar and Chahal. Pant misses out,” Rohit Sharma said at the toss. 

Aussie skipper Finch said the team is excited to be tested against India. 

Also read: India vs Australia, 1st T20I: PCA Stadium, Mohali pitch report, weather forecast

“We’re going to have a bowl first. It is about building up to the World Cup, and about getting some information about our boys. Really excited. You expect to be tested, hopefully some dew comes out. The pitch looks hard and flat. We have one change from out earlier XI,” Aaron Finch said. 

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

Australia (Playing XI): Aaron Finch(c), Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood