Qualcomm

As Australia prepare to defend the title they won in the UAE in 2021, Finch added that lifting the trophy in front of a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground in November would be a dream come true for him. "It might be a full stop on everything (several players retiring from T20Is, including him) if it goes to plan like that.

Born in Singapore, David has had sporadic opportunities to play for the Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League (BBL) and for Singapore in the T20 World Cup qualifiers in 2019. He was bought by Mumbai Indians in the IPL mega auction for a mind-boggling sum of Rs 8.25 crore, given his ability to destroy any bowling with his power-hitting.

Finch also added that spin will play a big role in deciding which team wins the prestigious trophy, given that batters will have to clear long boundaries on big Australian grounds. Australia have relied upon the tall 31-year-old Hazlewood to keep the scoring rate low at the backend of an innings. The pacer now occupies the top spot on the ICC T20 bowler rankings.

The tournament will feature the world's best men's cricketers from 16 countries, with an Australian side, captained by Finch, determined to defend the title they won in the UAE last year. It is the first time the men's tournament is being hosted Down Under, with the women's equivalent taking place 2020. Finch said the period between now and the start of the mega-event will be crucial to his side's chances of retaining the crown.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is making his India debut from this game and skipper Rohit called him an exciting prospect. "We are gonna bat first. Looks like a good pitch, decent ground to play. Good pitch, sun is out, better thing to bat first. Recovered pretty well, had a couple of hits before getting into this game. Looking forward to the game as well," said Rohit at the toss.

After missing the rescheduled fifth Test against England at Birmingham due to Covid-19, the 35-year-old is now fit and fine to lead India in the T20I series against England, beginning on Thursday. Having trained for three straight days in Birmingham, Sharma linked up with the rest of the group on Tuesday afternoon. Rohit also said that younger players in the team deserve their opportunities after doing well in IPL or for their state teams, adding that England is going to be a very challenging team for them.

Ireland gave an impressive performance against India, the No.1-ranked men's T20I team in the world, by taking them the distance in the second T201 despite losing the series 0-2. Both newcomers Conor Olphert and Stephen Doheny have retained their spots. While Olphert made his international debut against India, uncapped Doheny could well be in line to get an opportunity in the upcoming assignment.

After a delay of nearly two hours, with the match reduced to 12 overs a side, Malik got just one over to bowl, leaking 18 runs as Harry Tector punched him through mid-on for four and pulled him for a six over deep square leg. India skipper Hardik Pandya had uplifting words to speak for Malik after India won by seven wickets.

With Pandya stressing after the first match that India are firmly focusing on the road to Men's T20 World Cup, to be hosted by Australia in October-November, they will be keen to test more players in the second T20I. With Umran Malik being handed a debut, he could be expected to continue in the eleven despite leaking 14 runs in the lone over he bowled.

"Obviously, I was a bit nervous. But at the same time, there will be challenges in life, so I was facing the challenge and I am up for everything. The partnership with Hardik was quick and because of that, we moved ahead quickly in the game. I didn't plan specifically to hit a six or four, I just wanted to finish the game (winning shot)," Hooda told Yuzvendra Chahal in a video for bcci.tv in Dublin.