The highly anticipated India tour to Australia 2025 T20I series begins on October 29, 2025, at Manuka Oval in Canberra. This first encounter kicks off a five-match T20I series that will serve as crucial preparation for both India and Australia ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Both India and Australia enter the tournament with opposing strengths but a same goal: to start strong and set the tone for the series.
The live cricket action moves to the shortest format of the game as Australia (AUS) will be crossing swords against India (IND) in the first T20I of the five-match series on Wednesday, October 29 at the beautiful venue of Manuka Oval in Canberra. The two top most sides in world cricket are engaging in a 20-over competition after more than 16 months — the last being during the 2024 World Cup, won by India.
The three-match ODI series between India and Australia has just concluded with the hosts taking the mettle by 2-1. Continuing the thrill of the game, the white ball series now returns with cricket’s shortest format. The 1st T20I of the five-match T20I series is all set to go live from October 29 at Manuka Oval.
AUS vs IND : Previous Performances
The hosts Australia have been in terrific form of late across formats. And when it comes to 20-over games, they have lost just one out of the most recent five outings. Their ace pacer Josh Hazlewood has shown consistency with the ball, making him a lethal challenge for the opposition. Apart from skipper Marsh, opening batter Travis Head, Matt Short and Josh Inglis also add power to the batting line-up of the Aussies.
Australia, led by Mitchell Marsh, enter the series in good white-ball form. The hosts have dominated the T20 circuit over the previous year, winning 26 of their last 32 games and being undefeated in bilateral series since early 2024. Their strategy has been aggressive, emphasising early power hitting and smart fielding.
However, a couple absences might put their depth to the test, Glenn Maxwell will be out for the first two games, while Matthew Short is still uncertain due to injury. In their absence, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, and Tim David will be heavily relied on for their middle-order explosiveness.
The Indian team, on the other hand, will enter the contest after winning the Asia Cup in their last outing in the format, where they beat the arch-rivals Pakistan. There isn’t a lot of difference in the squad that played the T20Is, with Nitish Kumar Reddy being the only addition to the squad from the continental tournament. While both the teams are in excellent form, the upcoming contest promises to be a mouthwatering one.
Team India arrives in Australia after an impressive T20 campaign, which included solid results in the Asia Cup 2025. India’s lineup, led by Suryakumar Yadav, is a mix of young and experienced players, with explosive top-order hitters and several spin options. While Suryakumar’s recent batting performance has fallen short of his lofty expectations (no half-centuries in 14 innings), his leadership and tactical ability remain critical.
Players such as Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Rinku Singh will be critical in preserving India’s aggressive style of cricket. India’s bowling appears to be well-balanced, with Jasprit Bumrah leading the speed attack alongside Arshdeep Singh, while Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel provide key spin variation suitable for Canberra’s slower surface.
AUS vs IND : Head to Head
Australia and India have played 32 matches in the shortest format of the game, with the Men in Blue winning 20 of them. Australia have won 11 times, with one match ending in a draw.
| Matches Played | 32 |
| AUS Won | 11 |
| IND Won | 20 |
| Tied / No Result | 1 |
| First-ever fixture | September 22, 2007 |
| Most-recent fixture | June 24, 2024 |
AUS vs IND : Pitch and Weather Report
The Manuka Oval pitch in Canberra is expected to offer a batting-friendly surface for the 1st T20I between Australia and India. Historically, the venue has seen an average first-innings score of 150 in T20I matches, with good bounce and pace for fast bowlers, as well as slower spin options for the spinners. The pitch tends to be slightly slow but rewards batters who spend time settling in before accelerating.
The Manuka Oval has hosted 22 T20I matches, where teams batting first have won 10 times and teams chasing have won 9 times, showing it to be relatively balanced. Scores above 180 are generally competitive at this venue.
Manuka Oval has of late become one of the preferred T20I venues in the country. The venue in the Australian capital has hosted five 20-over games since its first in 2019, and 40 per cent of the match results have gone in favour of the teams chasing. Any score over 180 can be considered a winning total at this venue. However, the pitch offers as much assistance to the chasing side, which puts the bowlers’ skills to test.
There’s a forecast of a cool week in Canberra, with match-day temperatures expected to range between 9°C and 15°C. While there is a slight chance of rain, any showers are expected to be brief and passing. Importantly, no heavy drizzle is anticipated during the first T20I, which begins at 7:15 pm local time (1:45 pm IST).
The forecast indicates some rain early in the morning, but conditions are expected to clear well before match time.The weather will be mostly cloudy with moderate humidity, predicted to drop to a minimum of 50 percent during the game. Expect a noticeable breeze blowing at around 17 km/h.
AUS vs IND : Big Picture : Bumrah returns a big boost for India vs Australia
While ODI series had relatively little meaning other than both teams taking some early steps on the road to the 2027 World Cup, the five-match T20I series beginning in Canberra on Wednesday night is of far greater significance for the near term.
The No. 1 and 2 teams in the world face off in the final throws of their preparations for February’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. The conditions will bear no relevance, but the chance for each side to test themselves and their game style against each other so close to a World Cup will be highly beneficial to both teams.
India are unequivocally the No.1 team in the world. The reigning World Cup winners stormed to the Asia Cup title without being defeated and they were only run close once by Sri Lanka in the Super Fours. They have lost just three matches since winning the World Cup in 2024 and have arguably become an even stronger and more dynamic group with an influx of young IPL talent under Suryakumar Yadav.
Jasprit Bumrah returns after being rested for the ODI series and will likely enjoy the early season conditions in Australia given his exploits with the red and pink balls down under last summer. One challenge facing India will be how to best balance the XI in Australian conditions, something they struggled with in the ODIs, having won the Asia with a spin-heavy team in spin-friendly conditions.
Meanwhile, Australia have turned over a new leaf since their disappointing exit from the 2024 World Cup at the hands of India. Back-to-back mediocre showings in the 2022 and 2024 editions force a rethink from Australia’s hierarchy about their approach.
The results have been spectacular since going to an all-out power-hitting method of playing under Mitchell Marsh. They have lost just two of their last 20 T20Is on the back of some electric batting led by Marsh, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Tim David, Mitchell Owen and Glenn Maxwell. They are without Green against India as he prepares for the Ashes but Marcus Stoinis and Matt Short fill the breach.
“There has been a shift,” coach Andrew McDonald said on Monday in Canberra.
“We’re 11 games in now from the initial conversation. When we set out on this journey, we’d failed in a couple of World Cups previously, so we wanted to shift and stretch the boundaries on what we thought we could do.
“So yeah, we have been more aggressive, we’ve played people in different positions. Tim David has batted a little bit higher than previously.
“Our admission was that we haven’t been successful in a couple of campaigns. We’ve got to change things up. We’ve got to stretch ourselves.
“Is it the style that can win a World Cup? We believe so. Will we have to pivot and nuance it slightly, depending on whether we’re in Colombo or Delhi or Kolkata? There’s no doubt about that.”
In the short term they get to test their new style against the best team on the planet.
“You’re playing against India, so it’s a really good test on whether this style will hold up,” McDonald said.
“They’re the number-one ranked team in the world, I think we’re number two. We’re excited to test ourselves against the best.
AUS vs IND : In the Spotlight : Matthew Kuhnemann and Suryakumar Yadav
In any Australian white-ball team, Adam Zampa is the first name written on the team sheet and the rest are selected from there. For the first time since the 2023 tour of India, where Australia picked a second XI post their ODI World Cup triumph, Zampa won’t be in an Australian T20I XI having played every game in the past two years.
He will miss the entire series for paternity reasons. It presents a great opportunity for Matthew Kuhnemann, who has played just one of Australia’s last 16 T20Is despite being in every squad. Australia want the option of playing two spinners in the same XI in the World Cup, particularly in Sri Lanka. Kuhnemann can lock himself into the final 15 with a good series against some of the best spin-hitters in the world that will put him under severe pressure.
Suryakumar Yadav‘s fall from being the No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world in the first half of 2024 to struggling for runs in 2025 has been startling. He has not scored a half-century in his last 14 innings and has averaged 10.50 and struck at just 100.80 in that time.
How or why is somewhat of a mystery given he had an outstanding IPL earlier this year as the second leading runscorer across the tournament with five half-centuries at a strike rate of 167.91. It seems incomprehensible that he wouldn’t be a key pillar in India’s top four heading into the World Cup but he would love some runs against Australia to ease any pressure he might be feeling.
AUS vs IND : Vital Stats that matters
- There have been five men’s T20Is in Canberra, with the most recent in 2022, with the record split 2-2 beetween defending and chasing teams
- India won their only T20I in Canberra against Australia in 2020, defending 161
- Suryakumar’s streak of 14 T20Is without a half-century is the longest of his career
- Australia have not beaten India in a T20I series in Australia since 2008
- Australia have won 43 T20I matches at home out of the total of 69 matches they played, with a solid W/L ratio of 1.954.
- Australia have made the highest T20I score of 225 runs against India in T20I encounters.
- Australia have won 2 matches out of the five they have played at Canberra.
- Mitchell Marsh boasts an average of 40.8 in T20Is this year from his 11 outings. 100s: 1; 50s: 2
- Josh Hazlewood is in fine form with the ball and boasts 9 wickets from his five T20I outings this year. ER: 8.10; Avg: 18.00
- Travis Head vs Jasprit Bumrah in T20Is: 25 runs; 17 balls; 1 dismissal
- Mitchell Marsh vs Kuldeep Yadav in T20Is: 5 runs; 8 balls; 1 dismissal
- India has played only one match at Canberra and has won that match while defending a target of 161 runs.
- In Australia, India has managed 7 wins out of the 12 T20Is they have played there with a solid W/L ratio of 1.750.
- Abhishek Sharma is in red-hot form in T20Is and boasts an average of 49.4 this year from his 12 innings. 50s: 4; 100s: 1
- Tilak Varma has been having a breakout year for himself this year, with an average of 57.7 from 11 T20I matches. 50s: 2
- Varun Chakaravarthy has 21 wickets from 11 T20I outings in 2025. ER: 7.02; Avg: 13.4
- Suryakumar Yadav vs Josh Hazlewood in T20Is: 18 runs; 7 balls; 1 dismissal
- Kuldeep Yadav vs Marcus Stoinis in T20Is: 10 runs; 8 balls; 0 dismissals
AUS vs IND : Team News for Australia and India
Australia :
Mitchell Marsh will be leading a confident Australia team in the 1st T20I with names like Travis Head, Matt Short, and Josh Inglis in the fray to take responsibility for the top order alongside the captain. Amongst the senior bowlers, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood will take the helm for wrecking wickets. Coming off a successful New Zealand series victory, the Men in Yellow are ready and confident to take down the Men in Blue as well.
Matthew Short’s hopes of bedding down his spot in the T20I side have taken another blow after he had surgery on the cut he sustained on his finger in the second ODI in Adelaide. He will remain with the squad but will be unavailable until the wound heals. Inglis missed the entire T20I tour of New Zealand and the ODI series against India with a calf strain that has taken some time to get right. He has been ramping up the intensity of his running since rejoining the squad in Sydney and looks set to return to the line-up.
He will likely return at No.3 where he has had great success. How Australia structure their middle order remains to be seen as Glenn Maxwell does not return until game three. They are thin for options with backup keeper Josh Philippe set to play as a batter in Canberra while Ben McDermott has been called into the squad as extra cover. Australia do not have Ben Dwarshuis for the opening three T20Is due to a calf issue.
Australia Probable Playing XI : Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Josh Phillippe, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Xavier Bartlett
India :
The Indian T20 team will be high on their horses as well after an unbeaten run in the Asia Cup 2025 tournament. The Suryakumar Yadav-led team will be ready to conquer the Australian soil as well with a mix of experienced and fresh faces.
Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar, Shubman Gill, and Sanju Samson will be expected to perform with their usual firepower at the top, while Jasprit Bumrah, who was not part of the ODI squad, will head the pace battery. Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh will also be in the fray to trouble the hosts.
India had a spin-heavy line-up in their last T20I outing in the Asia Cup final but will likely add some pace to their attack for the five matches in Australia. Arshdeep Singh is almost certain to return alongside Jasprit Bumrah but Harshit Rana may also come into the mix after his career-best ODI performance in Sydney on Saturday. If those two are added, then Shivam Dube could miss out. Nitish Kumar Reddy is fit again after missing the final ODI with a left quad issue and could be an allround seam-bowling option if needed.
India Probable Playing XI : Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
AUS vs IND : Probable Best Performers of the Match
Probable Best Batter — Abhishek Sharma
The young opening batter from Punjab — Abhishek Sharma, is among the latest batting sensations in international cricket right now. He was the Player of the Match in the Men in Blue’s Asia Cup triumph, and has already scored a couple of centuries in just 23 innings so far. Currently, the No. 1 T20I batter in the ICC Rankings, Abhishek Sharma is expected to garner a lot of attention from the fans for the upcoming match.
Probable Best Bowler — Josh Hazlewood
If Abhishek is the best that India have, Josh Hazlewood could put question marks around that with his sheer skills and the ability to bowl wicket-to-wicket. The right-arm pacer is also the most experienced seamer in the Australian squad, and is still going strong, being extremely frugal when it comes to his economy rate of just 7.54 after 58 matches. Hazlewood is going to be the bowler to watch out for.
AUS vs IND : Match Prediction for Australia vs India
Scenario 1
170-190: Final score
Australia win the match
Scenario 2
India win the toss and opt to bowl first
40-50: Powerplay
180-200: Final score
India win the match
India are very strong in this format, and Jasprit Bumrah’s return in the bowling unit will add more strength. But, the conditions will be new for the visitors, and some of these Indian players have not played much in Australia. That is why we back Australia to win the first T20I.
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