Brisbane, Nov 21: India captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl in their opening Twenty20 international in Brisbane on Wednesday, kicking off a two-month long tour.
The visitors are favourites to get off to a winning start having claimed victory in their last four games over the short format. In contrast, Australia have lost their previous four.
India are boosted by a full-strength squad with batting powerhouse Kohli back leading the team after he skipped their recent series against the West Indies
He named a strong pace attack led by the experienced Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar on a Gabba pitch expected to offer bounce.
"It looks like a hard track with a decent amount of grass on it," said Kohli.
"We haven't had much of time here, so we would like to see how the pitch behaves. It's going to be competitive."
Australia opted for spinner Adam Zampa instead of paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile, with Andrew Tye and Billy Stanlake leading the attack. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are all rested for the series.
"I would have preferred to bowl first, but I don't mind putting up a score on the board. It is a beautiful wicket," said Australia skipper Aaron Finch.
The game is the first of three T20s between the two sides in the space of five days before they face off in four Tests, followed by a one-day series.
The last time India played a T20 series in Australia (in 2016) they blanked the hosts 3-0.
Australia: D'Arcy Short, Aaron Finch (capt), Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Billy Stanlake
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (capt), Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed
Umpires: Paul Wilson (AUS) and Simon Fry (AUS)
TV umpire: Gerard Abood (AUS)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
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