Australia vs India, 2nd T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary
Start Time
1:45 PM
8:15 AMGMT
7:15 PMLOCAL
Match starts at Oct 31, 08:15 GMT
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Preview by Bharat Sundaresan
It'll take something extraordinary for the focus to shift away from the extraordinary achievements of the Indian women's team overnight in Mumbai. But maybe a packed MCG with nearly 90,000 screaming Indian cricket fans might, at least for one night, garner some attention. Before understandably and deservedly the spotlight returns to the DY Patil Stadium as Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and their spectacular team look to create history in the World Cup final.
This is not to say that there won't be a lot of energy and excitement around the second T20I of this five-match series later this evening in Melbourne. Even if a lot of chatter leading up to it will centre around Rodrigues and the way she got India home in the world-record run-chase. But after the disappointment from two nights ago where the opening match was rained off in Canberra, there is expected to be renewed vigour and noise around the MCG as the two best T20I teams in the world get ready for battle.
India have great memories of their last two visits to the 'G for a T20I. Though they polished off Zimbabwe in their most recent match here, in what was their last league encounter in the 2022 T20 World Cup; it was the one prior to that in the same tournament against Pakistan, which will be remembered foreverby those who were at Australia's hallowed sporting turf. When the 'G was as loud as it ever has been, even according to those who've witnessed dozens of AFL Grand Finals here.
There were signs even in the 9.4 overs of action in Canberra of why this Indian T20I team is probably the most exciting it's ever been in terms of talent alone. This will be the first opportunity for the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and the rest to showcase their wares at one of cricket's most iconic venues.
And for the Melbourne faithful to get a first-hand look at what makes them so genuinely exciting, especially if the weather does hold up.
When: Australia v India, 2nd T20I, October 31, 2025, 19:15 hrs Local Time, 19:15 hrs AEDT, 13:45 hrs IST
Where: MCG, Melbourne
What to expect: After a no result game in Canberra, signs aren't the brightest in Melbourne two days later. Ironically the Victorian capital has had flawless weather over the last two days but there's already been rain in the air on Friday morning with the clouds casting a very sombre look up in the skies. Most of the radars show the rains relenting post 5 pm, which could possibly allow for the match starting on time. Like in the last few summers, there'll be intrigue around how the pitch plays at the MCG, not just for the 40 overs here but for what it could mean for the rest of the season.
Team News
Australia
Though there were some expensive overs in between rain breaks for most of the Aussie bowlers on show, there is unlikely to be any changes made from the XI that fronted up in Canberra with Josh Philippe to continue as a specialist batter.
Probable XI:Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Mitch Owen, Josh Philippe, Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood
India
Not for the first time, there will be eyebrows raised over the exclusion of Arshdeep Singh, India's most successful bowler in this format, in favour of Harshit Rana who adds some batting muscle to the lower-order. But India too will in all likelihood stick to the same combination from Wednesday night.
Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
It'll take something extraordinary for the focus to shift away from the extraordinary achievements of the Indian women's team overnight in Mumbai. But maybe a packed MCG with nearly 90,000 screaming Indian cricket fans might, at least for one night, garner some attention. Before understandably and deservedly the spotlight returns to the DY Patil Stadium as Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and their spectacular team look to create history in the World Cup final.
This is not to say that there won't be a lot of energy and excitement around the second T20I of this five-match series later this evening in Melbourne. Even if a lot of chatter leading up to it will centre around Rodrigues and the way she got India home in the world-record run-chase. But after the disappointment from two nights ago where the opening match was rained off in Canberra, there is expected to be renewed vigour and noise around the MCG as the two best T20I teams in the world get ready for battle.
India have great memories of their last two visits to the 'G for a T20I. Though they polished off Zimbabwe in their most recent match here, in what was their last league encounter in the 2022 T20 World Cup; it was the one prior to that in the same tournament against Pakistan, which will be remembered foreverby those who were at Australia's hallowed sporting turf. When the 'G was as loud as it ever has been, even according to those who've witnessed dozens of AFL Grand Finals here.
There were signs even in the 9.4 overs of action in Canberra of why this Indian T20I team is probably the most exciting it's ever been in terms of talent alone. This will be the first opportunity for the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and the rest to showcase their wares at one of cricket's most iconic venues.
And for the Melbourne faithful to get a first-hand look at what makes them so genuinely exciting, especially if the weather does hold up.
When: Australia v India, 2nd T20I, October 31, 2025, 19:15 hrs Local Time, 19:15 hrs AEDT, 13:45 hrs IST
Where: MCG, Melbourne
What to expect: After a no result game in Canberra, signs aren't the brightest in Melbourne two days later. Ironically the Victorian capital has had flawless weather over the last two days but there's already been rain in the air on Friday morning with the clouds casting a very sombre look up in the skies. Most of the radars show the rains relenting post 5 pm, which could possibly allow for the match starting on time. Like in the last few summers, there'll be intrigue around how the pitch plays at the MCG, not just for the 40 overs here but for what it could mean for the rest of the season.
Team News
Australia
Though there were some expensive overs in between rain breaks for most of the Aussie bowlers on show, there is unlikely to be any changes made from the XI that fronted up in Canberra with Josh Philippe to continue as a specialist batter.
Probable XI:Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Mitch Owen, Josh Philippe, Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood
India
Not for the first time, there will be eyebrows raised over the exclusion of Arshdeep Singh, India's most successful bowler in this format, in favour of Harshit Rana who adds some batting muscle to the lower-order. But India too will in all likelihood stick to the same combination from Wednesday night.
Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Squads:
Australia Squad: Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis(w), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Matthew Short, Ben Dwarshuis, Tanveer Sangha
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma
