IND v AUS 2020, 1st T20I: India's predicted playing XI

With the next T20 World Cup not too far away, India would look to approach the T20 series against Australia with more urgency and purpose than they usually do in this format.

India's team balance issues were laid bare in the ODI series. Struggling for bowling variety with just five bowlers, India could look to address the composition of their playing XI in the shortest format of the game.

As evidenced by the tight contest in the final ODI, the Manuka Oval in Canberra plays a lot more into India's strengths as a team. With variable bounce and movement on offer, to go with the longer boundaries, one can expect India's seamers to extract more from the wicket and the spinners to have more of a say.

The solitary T20I played at the Manuka Oval wasn't a very high-scoring affair, with a target of 150 being chased down by Australia against Pakistan. Notably, the top scorer of that match was Steve Smith, who has been in marauding form of late.

Owing to Rohit Sharma's continued absence, KL Rahul will continue as the vice-captain of the side. India may rest some key players as they attempt to strike the balance between testing out their best team and affording their all-format players a breather.

Here is the predicted playing XI for the first India vs Australia T20I on 4th December.

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Openers: KL Rahul (wk), Shikhar Dhawan

KL Rahul should stick to his preferred spot at the top of the T20I batting order.

In the abridged format of the game, Rahul is best utilised at the top of the order, as shown by his remarkable season for the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. A player who was equally prolific as an opener was Shikhar Dhawan, and with no Rohit in the side, there is hardly a question about the openers.

India might pull a rabbit out of the hat and try a player like Sanju Samson in an opener's slot. The other possible option is Virat Kohli coming up top, as he did briefly in the format. However, with two openers in decent T20 form, expect India not to tinker with the opening combination too much, at least in the opening game of the series.

Both Rahul and Dhawan have been in patchy form in the recent ODI series, with one fifty to their name. This might just add an element of hunger to their batting, with both of them keen to ensure their name is pencilled down for the mega event in 2021.

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Middle order: Virat Kohli (c), Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya

Manish Pandey may be given a chance to hold down a middle order spot for India.

Virat Kohli looked comfortable batting at No. 3 throughout the IPL. With the uncertainty around KL Rahul's position sorted in both formats, there shouldn't be much of a question about where the Indian captain will bat. Coming off of decent form in the ODI series, Kohli will likely play the anchor role with the aggressive batsmen around him.

Shreyas Iyer was about alright in the ODI series - he hardly scored enough runs to cement his place but showed his ability to control the middle overs well.

The team may just opt for the more experienced Manish Pandey in this role, to test out the Karnataka batsman in this format and provide him his first opportunity on the tour. Pandey has also been extremely consistent in T20Is, and India have a stellar record when he is part of the playing XI.

While India would be tempted to keep Hardik Pandya lower down as a finisher, his scores of 90, 28 and 92* in the ODI series demand more game time. Hence, going by current form, Pandya would be perfect to occupy the No. 5 position while he remains unable to bowl consistently enough.

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All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar may play his first game on tour tomorrow.

Ravindra Jadeja showed fine hitting form in the IPL where he was used by Chennai Super Kings as a finisher, and carried that into the ODI series against Australia. His turnaround as a batsman would inspire the Indian team to push him slightly up the order.

Being a left-handed batsman, and given Kohli's tendency to play the combinations game, expect some promotions for Jadeja in order to counter Australia's leg-spinner and left-arm orthodox bowler.

The other left-hander in the middle order will be Washington Sundar. The spin-bowling all-rounder is a handy batsman, and can provide lower order runs if India's power-packed top six fail to deliver on the day.

Both Jadeja and Sundar are also more than adept finger-spinners, and their skills will be a good addition to India's bowling arsenal on the large Canberra ground.

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Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, T Natarajan

Chahar would look to hit the ground running on this tour after CSK's disappointing IPL season.

After an impressive show in his first game for his country, T Natarajan is all set to make his T20I debut. The left-arm angle he provides and his ability to dish out yorkers at the death would make him a shoo-in for the national T20I side.

Deepak Chahar had a middling IPL season, but his accuracy and lengths could be used well in the powerplay. Apart from his gamut of variations and slower balls for the later stages of the innings, he could also be used as a strike bowler in the middle overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal will get an opportunity to bounce back after a horror ODI series. The only wrist-spinner in the squad, Chahal will look to bring back his IPL form where he troubled batsman with his tossed-up deliveries and occasional googlies.

After Mohammed Shami getting rest for the final ODI, the experienced paceman should be back in action for India. The team may look to rest Jasprit Bumrah, who looked close to his best in the final ODI against Australia but is a crucial cog in all three formats.