AUS vs IND 2025-26, 1st T20I: Suryakumar Yadav shows form before rain washes out the opening T20I between India and Australia.
Brief Scores: IND 97/1 (9) (Suryakumar Yadav 39*, Shubman Gill 37*, Nathan Ellis 1/25) vs AUS. Match called off due to persistent rain.
After Australia’s 2-1 ODI series victory, India had the chance to turn the tables during the five-match T20I series. The opening clash took place at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Both sides went with their strong squad as preparation for the T20 World Cup 2026 which will take place in India and Sri Lanka.
The 22-yard strip featured a healthy covering of grass, promising assistance for the pacers with the new ball. However, with dew expected to set in later in the evening, batting conditions were likely to improve in the second innings.
Australia’s captain, Mitchell Marsh, won the toss and unsurprisingly opted to bowl. Sean Abott missed out as the management went with Josh Hazlewood, who would remain available only for the first two matches of the series. Matt Kuhnemann takes the spot in place of Adam Zampa.
Despite conditions being different from Dubai, India retained their three frontline spinners they used in the Asia Cup 2025. Jasprit Bumrah was the leader of the pacer attack in the baffling absence of Arshdeep Singh from the playing eleven.
Talking point: Suryakumar Yadav among runs is India’s biggest positive
Suryakumar Yadav didn’t enjoy a great Asia Cup 2025 with just 72 runs in six innings at an average of 18. But his undefeated 39-run knock in 24 balls with three fours and two sixes was a massive positive for the Blue Brigade. They would hope to see the same dominance from their captain throughout the series.
Read More: Asia Cup in the bag but India’s real road to T20 WC 2026 begins down under next month
India reach 97/1 before persistent rain spoil opening T20I
Both visiting opening batters, Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, approached aggressively in the power play. The latter scored two boundaries off Xavier Barlett’s opening over. Gill played a beautiful on-drive against Nathan Ellis for a boundary, along with his cheeky shots around the ground. However, the Tasmania pacer changed the pace of the ball to send back Abhishek for 19 runs.
Suryakumar smashed the first six of the game over the deep square leg fence. A brief delay due to rain reduced the game to 18 overs per side. The visitors didn’t take a back seat after the break. Both Suryakumar and Gill collected boundaries in almost every single over.
India’s captain smacked Ellis for two successive boundaries before muscling his slower ball over mid-wicket for a huge six. But the rain arrived again to take the players off.
Rain continued to get heavy, and with not much time available, the umpires decided to call the game off. Â It was a very frustrating end to what was shaping up to be an entertaining contest in Canberra.
Read More: Suryakumar Yadav’s average & strike rate see remarkable dip since assuming captaincy
Statistical highlights from AUS vs IND, 1st T20I, 2025 in Canberra
- Abhishek Sharma got dismissed for the first time against Nathan Ellis off the first ball the former faced against the latter in T20Is.
- Suryakumar Yadav breached the 150-sixes mark in T20Is. He is now no. 5 on the list of top six-hitters in this format.
What’s next
Both teams will turn their focus to the second T20I of the series. The match will take place on October 31 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The number of countries that’d leave their highest wicket taker in a format out of the XI so consistently with a World Cup coming up in four months is very limited. Arshdeep deserves better treatment. #AUSvIND
— Priyank Panchal (@PKpanchal09) October 29, 2025
Read More: Selection errors or rusty ODI execution: What are the causes of India’s series loss in Australia?
