India vs Australia T20Is: Form and numbers in India's favour

India is currently No. 2 in ICC T20I rankings while Australia is third. Aaron Finch and his men, battered by the current state of affairs, will barely find any comfort in the numbers.

Against India, Australia has won only a third of the T20 matches (5 out of 15) with its last win coming in Guwahati in October 2017.

Ahead of the T20I series between India and Australia, the overall numbers, since the two heavyweights first locked horns in the shortest format, have generally favoured the Indians. 

India is currently No. 2 in ICC T20 rankings while Australia is third. And Aaron Finch and his men, battered as they are by the current state of affairs — on and off the field — will barely find any comfort in the stats. 

Against India, Australia has won only a third of the T20 matches (5 out of 15) with its last win coming in Guwahati in October 2017. India, thus, has an impressive win percentage of 67. 

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At home too, the Aussies have struggled against the sub-continent giant, managing only two wins from six matches. Adding to its woes is a 3-0  scoreline favouring India the last time two teams played each other Down Under. 

India's performance in World Twenty20s too has surpassed that of Australia. While an M.S. Dhoni-led India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 and reached the final of the 2014 edition in Bangladesh, Australia has reached the final only once where it lost to England in Bridgetown, Barbados. 

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Memorable Knocks

Virat Kohli 90 not out Adelaide, 2016

Kohli hammered 90 off just 55 balls to power India to an eventually match-winning total of 188. The elegant right-hander plundered nine boundaries and two sixes in a breathtaking innings which saw him win the man-of-the-match award.

Aaron Finch: 74  Melbourne, 2016

Chasing 185, the current Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch struck a quickfire 72 off just 48 deliveries, studded with eight boundaries and two sixes to raise hopes of a win but his run-out in the 16th over, saw the host side slip to a 27-run loss as India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-T20I series. 

Rohit Sharma 60 Melbourne, 2016

Australia has always been a happy hunting ground for the Mumbai batsman, especially in white-ball cricket. His hitting prowess was on display in the second T20I where he racked up a half-century in 37 balls, smashing five boundaries and two sixes setting the tone for a win.

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That fateful night

And who can forget India's, rather historic, 15-run win against Australia in the second semifinal of the inaugural World T20 in South Africa. Batting first, India rode on Yuvraj Singh's blitkrieg to post a daunting 173/7. Yuvraj was ruthless in his 30-ball 70 during which he hit five boundaries and as many sixes.

What looked like a competitive total at the half-way mark, was dwarfed by Matthew Hayden's start. His 47-ball 62 coupled with Andrew Symond's 26-ball 43 threatened to end India's campaign before S. Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and Joginder Sharma combined to thwart the Australian surge. 

Sreesanth's fast yorker from round the wicket to get rid of Hayden was one of the highlights of the second innings.