Rain forces T20I series opener to get called off

Rain had the final say in Canberra as the opening T20I between Australia and India got called off. Suryakumar Yadav did find some form before the rain break as India batted out almost 10 overs before rain returned to take the players off the field for good.

Australia opted to bowl first after winning the toss and Abhishek Sharma started off in typical fashion finding the boundary thrice in the opening two overs. Shubman Gill got going with a couple of boundaries off Nathan Ellis at the other end before the bowler used the slower delivery to good effect to send Abhishek back to the pavilion.

Suryakumar then brought out his typical flick to smash the first six of the innings before rain arrived to stop proceedings. When play eventually did resume, the match was shortened a touch to an 18-overs per side affair. After a brief lull, both Gill and Suryakumar turned on the heat with the skipper in particular looking in ominous touch especially after going through a barren run recently.

After Gill nailed the slog sweep against Matthew Kuhnemann, Suryakumar picked Ellis apart with successive fours before following it up with a six. At 97/1 after 9.4 overs, India looked poised to finish with a commanding total before rain came down again. This time, there was just no room for play to resume again. The second game of the series is scheduled to be played on Friday (October 31) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Brief scores: India 97/1 in 9.4 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 39*, Shubman Gill 37*) vs Australia - No Result