1st T20I: Australia win toss; opt to field against India at Canberra

CANBERRA: Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh won the toss and put India to bat first in the first T20I of the five-match series, which is being played at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday.

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out for the first three T20Is. The all-rounder, recovering from his left quadriceps injury sustained during the second ODI in Adelaide, complained of neck spasms, which have impacted his recovery and mobility. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress.

After winning the toss, Mitchell Marsh said, “We are going to bowl first. It’s a good surface. I think most of the time we come to Canberra, it’s always a great surface and beautiful ground, and it’s going to be a stellar crowd, so I’m looking forward to it. (On his side, playing an aggressive brand of cricket) Yeah, as does India. I think both sides just lack a lot of power. As we know, India is the number one-ranked side in the world for a reason, so I’m certainly up and about for the contest. (Build-up to the World Cup) Yeah, it’s exciting. I think all teams around the world now are really pushing their deal towards the World Cup, so we’re excited to test ourselves against the number-one-ranked side in the world. (Team combination) Eleven players – a few batters, a few bowlers, and a few all-rounders. Keep it simple (smiles)”.

Toss #TeamIndia have been asked to bat first in Canberra.

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#AUSvIND | #1stT20I pic.twitter.com/tfUulkeLDZ

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 29, 2025

Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav said, “We were looking to bat first. I mean, it looks like a good wicket. And I heard from our analysts that there have not been a lot of games played here. Might get slower in the second innings. So, yeah, we wanted to bat first. (On the prep for the series) Yeah, I mean, we were here three or four days before this game. Though it was cold yesterday and today. But today, it looks good. Hopefully, we’ll have a good game. (On India’s good run in T20 cricket) Yeah, I mean, they know what’s to be done when they go inside. They know their roles really well. Have good responsibility on their shoulders. And they just enjoy the game. (On picking the XI) Big headache, yeah. It’s a good headache. It’s not a bad headache. It’s a good headache to have. But yeah, good to have so many options. The guys who are missing out are Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep and Nitish”.

Australia (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah. (ANI)