Australia wins toss, sends India in to bat in T20 series decider

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australia captain Mitch Marsh won the toss and sent India in to bat in overcast conditions Saturday, needing a victory at the Gabba to level the Twenty20 international series.

With rain and a possible storm on the forecast, the series-deciding game could be truncated. That means India’s batters need to score quickly from the start.

India took a 2-1 series lead with a 48-run victory Thursday on the Gold Coast, where Washington Sundar took three wickets in five deliveries to snuff out Australia’s run chase.

The Australians kept the same XI and India made just one change, with Rinka Singh coming in for Tilak Varma at No 4 in the batting order.

Australia lost its last seven wickets for 28 runs on the Gold Coast and was out for 119, its second lowest T20 total on home soil, chasing 168 to win.

The series-opening match was washed out and Australia won the second game before India rallied with a five-wicket win in Game 3.

The Australians won the preceding ODI series 2-1 after taking the first two games.

This is Australia’s last game before the five-test Ashes series against England starts Nov. 21 in Perth.

Lineups:

Australia: Matt Short, Mitchell Marsh (captain), Josh Inglis, Tim David, Josh Philippe, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa

India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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