Canberra hosts its second ever T20 International tomorrow when Australia faces India in the first T20I of the series at Manuka Oval on Friday 4 December 7.10pm.
Due to restrictions, Manuka Oval is at 65% capacity, approximately 6,000 fans. Click here for all other conditions of entry.
Watch on Foxtel or Kayo. Listen on ABC Radio.
T20 history at Manuka Oval
Manuka Oval has played host to just one T20 International before, with Australia comfortably beating Pakistan back in November 2019.
It was a relatively low scoring affair with Pakistan able to post just 6-150 before Australia chased it down with 9 balls to spare. Steve Smith was man of the match after scoring 80 off 51 balls so hopefully lightning can strike twice.
With just one International to look at, we thought to have a look at some Big Bash League (BBL) numbers but there wasn’t much to see over the past couple of seasons.
Unfortunately, each of the last four BBL matches played at Manuka Oval have been impacted by either rain or bushfire smoke. However, the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a maximum of 28oC with a 0% chance of rain so fingers crossed they get it right tomorrow night.
Takeaways from the ODI series
Despite losing the series 2-1, the Indians will come into the first T20I full of confidence after recording a gritty victory in the final ODI played here in Canberra yesterday.
There were plenty of runs scored over the series, with the Aussies producing 1,052 runs from their three innings and the Indians just behind with 948. Hopefully this trend continues, and we see a host of runs throughout the upcoming series.
The old adage of ‘runs on the board’ proved decisive as chasing proved difficult with the team batting first winning all three matches.
The X factors
Glenn Maxwell is one of the most exciting cricketers in the world to watch and was at his best in the ODI series, scoring 167 runs off just 86 balls.
His switch hit six that went 100 metres was the shot of the series and perfectly illustrated his talents with the bat.
For India, Hardik Pandya played a match winning knock in the third ODI that should boost his confidence ahead of a big summer. With his side in trouble at 5-155, Pandya produced an incredible innings of 92 not out that saw India post a competitive total.
He also scored an impressive 90 in the first ODI with some big hits, so will be one to keep an eye on all series.
