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Fire and ice. Not a bad way to describe what's been happening in this T20I series so far. One minute Australia are roaring like bushfire through India's top order in Melbourne, the next they're frozen solid watching the Men in Blue dominate in Hobart. Welcome to T20 cricket in 2025, where consistency is a myth and momentum is whatever happened in the last six balls. So here we are - series locked at 1-1 after India's five-wicket victory in Hobart. Now, where does this road take us next? Carrara Oval in Queensland. Now here's something interesting - Carrara became the first ground outside Brisbane to host a first-class game when it staged a match between Queensland and an England XI in 1990-91, famous for David Gower and John Morris's Tiger Moth fly-by. Yes, THAT fly-by. The one where two England cricketers decided mid-match that buzzing the ground in biplanes was a good idea. They were fined £1000 each, but honestly, the story's worth way more than that. The experiment to use Carrara for cricket was dropped in 1992, because it's primarily a football venue, and attendance was poor. But cricket has returned sporadically - mostly Big Bash League games. Let's start with India. Kuldeep Yadav has been released from India's T20I squad, returning to India to prepare for the upcoming Test series against South Africa. Tests again! But that's the reality of modern cricket - you're always preparing for the next format, the next series, the next challenge. With Kuldeep gone, India's spin options narrow down to Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel. Both are capable, but Kuldeep's mystery will be missed. The real talking point for India is their batting approach. Abhishek Sharma can be absolutely explosive and when he gets going, bowlers just pray for rain. Then there's Tilak Varma, calm and composed like he's been doing this for decades. And Suryakumar Yadav... well, the skipper's batting form hasn't exactly lit up this series. Arshdeep Singh is India's highest wicket-taker in T20Is, but often there's no room for him in the XI due to batting depth issues. That eternal Indian selection headache - do we play an extra bowler or strengthen the batting? Flip a coin, both arguments are valid. But when Arshdeep plays, he delivers. His variations at the death are worth their weight in gold, and Australia found that out the hard way in Hobart. Now, the Australians.
Big news - Travis Head has left the T20I squad for red-ball Ashes preparation, and will play for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield. The Ashes. Those five letters that make everything else irrelevant in Australian cricket. Head's been in devastating form, so losing him is a blow. Matt Short, a specialist opener in T20 cricket, is likely to replace Travis Head at the top of the order. Short's not a bad player at all - he's scored runs in domestic cricket and has the game for this level. The silver lining? Glenn Maxwell's return adds a new dimension for India to deal with, after he missed the Hobart T20I due to a wrist injury. When Maxwell's on song, he doesn't just bat, he conjures magic. Reverse sweeps, switch hits, scoops - the man has shots that don't exist in coaching manuals. But he's also capable of getting out for a duck while attempting something outrageous. That's the Maxwell package perfectly summed up and it would be interesting to see, which of the two Maxwells we get to witness here. Tim David has been Australia's batting revelation this series. The big Singaporean-turned-Australian has been promoted up the order and is making every run count. His 74 off just 38 in Hobart was pure hitting and just sheer brute force. Then there's Marcus Stoinis, who always seems to turn up against India. Adam Zampa is an outside chance of featuring, as he's currently at home near Byron Bay as his wife is due to give birth to their second child. If Zampa makes it, great. If not, Australia have Matthew Kuhnemann or Tanveer Sangha as options. Not quite the same impact, but options nonetheless. Kuhnemann is five T20Is old, but is yet to take his maiden wicket, so, he will be under the scrutiny as well. As previously announced, left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis will come into the mix for the final two matches, to support Ellis and Bartlett, with Sean Abbott released from the squad. Carrara Oval is a wildcard in cricket, truly. The venue has hosted just two T20Is to date - one in 2018 between Australia and South Africa, and another in 2022 against West Indies. That’s it. Two games, split evenly between a loss and a win for Australia. Barely enough to build trends, let alone predict outcomes. Everything else? Educated guesswork drawn from Big Bash fixtures, which, let’s be honest, operate on a different rhythm altogether. A win here guarantees the series won’t be lost, at worst, it’s a draw. A defeat, though, means Brisbane, which is barely 75 kilometers away from here, becomes a must-win to square things up. Brace yourselves for a thriller.
Squads
India:
The India T20I squad is led by Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), with Shubman Gill serving as the Vice-Captain. The squad's batters and all-rounders include Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar. The wicketkeepers are Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson. The bowling attack consists of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Australia:
The Australian T20I squad is captained by Mitchell Marsh. The rest of the squad, which features a rotational roster for various matches, includes Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis
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Big news - Travis Head has left the T20I squad for red-ball Ashes preparation, and will play for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield. The Ashes. Those five letters that make everything else irrelevant in Australian cricket. Head's been in devastating form, so losing him is a blow. Matt Short, a specialist opener in T20 cricket, is likely to replace Travis Head at the top of the order. Short's not a bad player at all - he's scored runs in domestic cricket and has the game for this level. The silver lining? Glenn Maxwell's return adds a new dimension for India to deal with, after he missed the Hobart T20I due to a wrist injury. When Maxwell's on song, he doesn't just bat, he conjures magic. Reverse sweeps, switch hits, scoops - the man has shots that don't exist in coaching manuals. But he's also capable of getting out for a duck while attempting something outrageous. That's the Maxwell package perfectly summed up and it would be interesting to see, which of the two Maxwells we get to witness here. Tim David has been Australia's batting revelation this series. The big Singaporean-turned-Australian has been promoted up the order and is making every run count. His 74 off just 38 in Hobart was pure hitting and just sheer brute force. Then there's Marcus Stoinis, who always seems to turn up against India. Adam Zampa is an outside chance of featuring, as he's currently at home near Byron Bay as his wife is due to give birth to their second child. If Zampa makes it, great. If not, Australia have Matthew Kuhnemann or Tanveer Sangha as options. Not quite the same impact, but options nonetheless. Kuhnemann is five T20Is old, but is yet to take his maiden wicket, so, he will be under the scrutiny as well. As previously announced, left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis will come into the mix for the final two matches, to support Ellis and Bartlett, with Sean Abbott released from the squad. Carrara Oval is a wildcard in cricket, truly. The venue has hosted just two T20Is to date - one in 2018 between Australia and South Africa, and another in 2022 against West Indies. That’s it. Two games, split evenly between a loss and a win for Australia. Barely enough to build trends, let alone predict outcomes. Everything else? Educated guesswork drawn from Big Bash fixtures, which, let’s be honest, operate on a different rhythm altogether. A win here guarantees the series won’t be lost, at worst, it’s a draw. A defeat, though, means Brisbane, which is barely 75 kilometers away from here, becomes a must-win to square things up. Brace yourselves for a thriller.
Squads
India:
The India T20I squad is led by Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), with Shubman Gill serving as the Vice-Captain. The squad's batters and all-rounders include Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar. The wicketkeepers are Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson. The bowling attack consists of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Australia:
The Australian T20I squad is captained by Mitchell Marsh. The rest of the squad, which features a rotational roster for various matches, includes Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis
======
All posters, please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staff, etc.
2. No making fun of players', officials', or coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media, or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion, as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
... back to back sixes
like I have shut in last T20 And game is not over yet 
