Canberra, Oct 28 (UNI) Cricket, the most unpredictable of certainties, is once again being staged as a test of temperament and timing. India, riding on the crest of T20 supremacy, arrive at Canberra not merely to play a match but to defend an empire of confidence built over a year of irresistible form.
The figures flatter the narrative: unbeaten through the Asia Cup, crowned T20 World Champions, and unbeaten in five of their last six against the Australians. But the real story begins when the ball swings under Canberra’s cold skies and the Manuka Oval fans start to hum that old Australian tune — “we are never beaten at home.”
Suryakumar Yadav leads a side that looks like a reflection of India’s new cricketing mood — impatient, expressive, and unafraid of chaos. Abhishek Sharma, the lad with wrists made of rebellion, Tilak Varma with his cool defiance, and Shubman Gill, the poet in whites turned power-hitter — they represent the changing face of India’s batting.
And then comes Jasprit Bumrah, India’s quiet thunderbolt. His spells have rewritten the language of fast bowling — minimal, precise, cruelly beautiful. If he gets rhythm under the lights, the Australians may find themselves staring into a long evening of reflection.
Australia, meanwhile, come with a curious combination of familiarity and discomfort. Mitchell Marsh, the captain who carries both brawn and burden, knows that his men have the muscle — Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David — but perhaps not the mystery. And without Adam Zampa’s guile, their spin cupboard looks emptier than they would like.
The pitch will tease both sides — a surface that offers bounce early, patience in the middle, and reward for those who wait. The weather may play its own mischief, with showers threatening to turn strategy into instinct. Toss, as always, may become the unseen twelfth man.
But beneath the statistics and selections lies something more interesting — the quiet question of who owns modern cricket’s tempo. India’s rise in T20s has not been accidental; it’s been philosophical. They’ve learnt to make risk an art form, to turn pressure into performance.
Australia, playing at home, may still have the noise. But India carry something rarer — rhythm. And in sport, rhythm often beats rhetoric.
The match begins at 1:45 pm IST. The series begins in Canberra tomorrow, but the real contest — between control and freedom — will be fought in the minds of eleven men on each side.
