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

India will take on Australia in a three-match T20I series, starting Tuesday. The first game will be played at the PCA Stadium Mohali. Nagpur, on September 23, and Hyderbad, on September 25, will host the other two matches. 

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Rohit Sharma and co have six matches to prepare for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia in October-November. In the series against Aaron Finch’s men the focus will be on India’s middle-order combinations. The skipper has made it clear that K L Rahul will be his opening partner but there is a possibility that Kohli gets promoted to the top-spot. The former captain made a hundred in the team’s last match, against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, opening the innings. 

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Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda are battling for the middle-order positions. 

India faced Australia, in T20Is, almost 18 months ago. They come to the series after a disappointing Asia Cup 2022 campaign. The Men in Blue were defeated by Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 4s stage. 

Australia recently played an ODI series against Zimbabwe at home. They won 2-1.

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Weather forecast and pitch report of PCA Stadium, Mohali:

The game starts at 7:20 PM IST. The weather is expected to be around 25-27 degrees in the evening. Humidity will be around 70% and dew is expected to play a massive role in the game.

Thunderstorms are predicted in the afternoon in Mohali.

The PCA Stadium has hosted five T20Is so far. The pitch has often been flat, assisting fast bowlers early on. However, after the first few over, batting becomes easier. The outfield is fast. 

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Squads: Australia: Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.