Who: Australia vs India
Content: 2nd T20 International of 5-match series
Location: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne, Australia
When: Friday, October 31st, 7:15pm (8:15pm GMT)
How to follow: All content will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports from 5:45pm AEST before the live text commentary stream.
Australia and India will play again in the second T20 International of the five-match series on Friday after Wednesday’s first match was canceled due to rain.
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The Indians, who are No. 1 in the T20 rankings and World Cup holders, have a strong record against the Australians, who are No. 2 in the world cricket rankings.
Al Jazeera Sports will cover the second leg of the much-awaited series, which is part of the preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
What happened in the first T20 of India’s tour to Australia?
The first match of the series was called off after 9.4 overs of innings as India were brought in by Australia. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and opener Shubman Gill showed what they were capable of by hitting two fours and a six in their last three deliveries before rain brought an end to the match.
With these bats, Suryakumar hit 24 for 39 and Gill hit 20 for 37, with the two creating an unbroken partnership of 62 in 5.9 overs.
How is Australia doing for the 2026 T20 World Cup?
Australia are unbeaten in the last eight T20 bilateral series, winning seven of them.
He has won each of the past four series. Both statistics are the longest records in cricket’s shortest format.
How is India doing for the 2026 T20 World Cup?
India are one place better than Australia with a nine-series unbeaten streak in bilateral T20 matches.
The Indians have won their last six games in a row.
How did India win the last T20 World Cup and where will it be in 2026?
India defeated South Africa by seven runs in the 2024 T20 World Cup final held in the United States and the Caribbean.
The Indians were on their way to lifting the trophy after defeating Australia in their last T20 encounter before this season. Mitch Marsh’s side were eliminated at the Super Six stage as India won by 24 runs in St. Lucia.
The 2026 stage will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, with the final match to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Statistical Attack – Australia vs India
Prior to this series, India had won seven of the last eight T20 matches against Australia, including the last three.
Australia’s home form has also not been very easy to read, as they have never won a multi-match series against India on home soil.
India has also won the last three bilateral T20 series against Australia, home and away.
Is Melbourne the world’s largest cricket stadium?
The MCG has an impressive capacity of 90,000 people, but it’s not the biggest cricket venue in the world. That title goes to the 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India. By comparison, England’s Lord’s Cricket Ground, considered the most famous cricket venue in the world, has a capacity of 31,100.
Are tickets still available for the second T20 between Australia and India?
The second game of the series had a full house for the first time in a while. A limited number of tickets are available for the final three games of the series, to be played in Hobart, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
Are Australia and India competing with Melbourne’s Oasis?
The sold-out MCG is even more remarkable as Britpop band Oasis play their first Australian show in 20 years at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Friday night. But it is widely expected that India’s blue seas will far outweigh its green and yellow domestic fans.
#TeamIndia reaches second place in Melbourne #AUSvIND T20I 🛬 👌 pic.twitter.com/MIadTIuEWz
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 30, 2025
What are Australia saying ahead of the second match against India?
Despite having played nearly 100 international games, Tim David and Nathan Ellis are set to make their first appearance at the famous MGC on Friday.
“For people who haven’t been there and done that, it’s an experience,” Ellis said.
“I was just talking to ‘Stoin’ (Marcus Stoinis) about the early days (of the BBL) when the Melbourne Derby would bring in over $90,000. He was telling us about his experience there, about how exciting it was and how cool it was.
“I’m really excited and looking forward to playing in front of a big crowd at the MCG. Some of us have had it on our calendar for a while.”
What will be the schedule for Australia-India T20 series?
October 31st: 2nd T20I vs India, MCG, Melbourne November 2nd: 3rd T20I vs India, Bellerive Oval, Hobart November 6th: 4th T20I vs India, Gold Coast Stadium, Gold Coast November 8th: 5th T20I vs India, The Gabba, Brisbane
Australian team news
Australia are likely to name the same team that started the first T20 international of the abandoned series.
This is the last game Josh Hazlewood will be available in the series, but Sean Abbott has one more game scheduled. Both players will then feature in Sheffield Shield (first class) matches before facing England in the Ashes Test series starting in November.
Cameron Green is absent from the entire series to focus on Ashes, and Adam Zampa is absent due to paternity leave.
Pat Cummins missed the series with a back injury and also missed the first Test against England.
Glenn Maxwell, who is recovering from a broken wrist, will replace Hazlewood after the second game, while Ben Dwarshuis, who is also returning from injury, will replace Abbott. After this game, Marli Beardman will also join the team as a reinforcement and there is a possibility that he will make his international debut.
indian team news
India will also name the same team that was named for the first T20 national team.
Jasprit Bumrah missed the ODI series but returned to the Indian T20 squad.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was selected for the tour in place of the injured Hardik Pandya, the only change made to the squad for September’s Asia Cup success. The fast bowling all-rounder then missed the first three matches of the series due to a left quadriceps injury.
Australia’s expected starting lineup
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuneman, Josh Hazlewood.
India’s expected starting lineup
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
