Australia take on New Zealand in the opening match of a T20I tri-series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Saturday, February 3.
The hosts are heading into the T20I series, which also involves England, after losing a recent ODI series 4-1 at home. Nonetheless, the team will be eyeing a fresh start in the shortest format of the game, in which they are ranked a lowly seventh.
David Warner will lead a second-string unit in the upcoming series as the likes of Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Marsh have been rested after the Ashes and the subsequent ODI series. Opener Aaron Finch is also likely to miss today's T20I after failing to recover from a hamstring injury that ruled out him out of the last two ODIs against England last month.
The onus to fire will be on captain Warner and all eyes will be on Big Bash League (BBL) stars D'Arcy Short and Chris Lynn. Young South Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who has impressed in the local T20 league, is also expected to make T20I debut today.
The T20I series also presents a good opportunity for pacers Ben Dwarshuis, Kane Richardson and leg-spinner Adam Zampa to cement their spots in the limited-over set-up.
On the other hand, New Zealand are heading into the series on the back of a 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan at home. The second-ranked T20I side, which has gone for an experienced side for the series, will look to bounce back and stamp their authority in the shortest format.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The first match of the T20I tri-series will start in Sydney from 7:20pm local time, 1:50pm IST, 8:20am GMT.
Live streaming and TV coverage
India: TV: Sony Six/HD; Live streaming: Sony Liv
Australia: TV: Channel 9, Fox Sports
UK: TV: Sky Sports Cricket; Live streaming: Sky Go
US: Willow TV
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport 1
Squads
Australia: David Warner(c), Aaron Finch, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa
New Zealand: Kane Williamson(c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Anaru Kitchen, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Ben Wheeler
