Australia VS India T20I: Big Test for Aaron Finch and KL Rahul in Series

But for two potentially strong players, this is a critical series for the mega tournament in Australia.

First, it's defending champion, Australian skipper - Aaron Finch, and second, India's Vice Captain, KL Rahul.

Both players have a rough past and will be gearing up to enter the mega tournament with their full strength and form. This series is a perfect chance for Aaron Finch and KL Rahul to stay on the crease, scoring runs and gaining back their momentum.

Is the two-time World Cup winner captain ready for his third World Cup?

After David Warner rested from the India series, Aaron finch will probably be under a little more pressure. The two-time World Cup winner recently withdrew from the ODI captaincy after his back-to-back failures in ODIs. He decided so that Australia could find a better captain or opener for the next year's ODI World Cup.

His disappointing performance against Zimbabwe and New Zealand has put him under highlight. This series against India will be a big test for him before he takes his team to Australia to defend their last year's title.

Australian former teammate and World Cup winner Brad Hodge said, "Finchy's a two-time World Cup winner, right? So, his mind is surely set to be unbelievably ready to be a triple-winner and double-winning captaining World Cup player."

He added his poor form, "If you're worried about form against Zimbabwe, you might as well pick it up and throw it into the Yarra because it's pointless. He'll be ready and ready to go. First match."

The cloud over KL Rahul's form and slow strike rate

After a two-and-a-half-month break due to injury and covid, KL Rahul returned directly to the Asia Cup 2022. He has a strike rate of 140.61 in the 61 T20I played for India, but he failed to score runs, and he also failed to score runs with a reasonable strike rate. He scored just 132 runs in the Asia Cup in five matches. 

"Look, obviously something that every player wants to work on. No one is perfect, everybody is working towards something, obviously strike rates are taken on an overall basis. You never see when a batter has played at a certain strike rate, whether it was important to play for him to play at a 200 strike rate or whether the team could still have won with him playing at 120-130," KL Rahul told reporters on the eve of the series opener against Australia.

KL Rahul has got a massive responsibility as opener alongside skipper Rohit Sharma. After the Indian captain and coach cleared the intent of attack in T20I, the role every player has in the team is defined.

"I am just working towards how I can better myself as an opening batter and how I can have an impact on my team whenever I go out to bat," he added.

"... Only we know what role is expected of each person. Everyone is trying to give their best, and not every time will a player succeed. And that is the kind of environment we have created, that players are not afraid to play, or players are not afraid to make mistakes." KL Rahul is under constant criticism from outside.

Test in the T20Is

Both these openers from Australia and India are crucial for their teams' journey in the upcoming World Cup. This series is a good chance for the players to get their lost touch and form. Anyone of these two finding their rhythm will take their team to win, and if both find their form, this series will become a nail-biting thriller.

Follow all of today's Cricket matches on our Live Match Centre