Category World News

Who: Australia vs. India
What: Second T20 international of five-game series
Where: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia
When: Friday, October 31, at 7:15pm (08:15 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 5:45 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.

After the first match was rained off on Wednesday, Australia and India will try again on Friday for their second T20 international.

The Indians, the T20 team with the best record in the world and the only team with the World Cup, are second only to the Australians.

The second game in a highly anticipated series that is a part of the 2026 T20 World Cup preparations is examined by Al Jazeera Sport.

What transpired during India’s first T20 appearance in Australia?

After being given a score of 9.4 overs by Australia, the series’ opener was called off. Before the rain brought the game to an end, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and opener Shubman Gill lit up the play with the latter scoring two fours and a six in the final three deliveries.

With Suryakumar and Gill sharing a 62-over partnership, Suryakumar and Gill were 39 off 24 while Gill was hit 37 off 20.

How has Australia fared in the T20 World Cup in the past?

Australia have won seven of their previous eight T20 bi-lateral series, continuing their unbeaten run.

The last four games have all ended in victories. In cricket’s shortest format, both stats correspond to their longest streaks.

How is India faring in preparation for the T20 World Cup in 2026?

With a nine-series unbeaten run in bilateral T20 matches, India is one better than Australia.

The Indians have won six straight games.

Where is the 2026 T20 World Cup and how did India triumph in the final round?

In the 2024 T20 World Cup final, India defeated South Africa by seven runs to win by seven runs.

In their final T20 encounter this year, the Indians defeated Australia to claim the trophy. India’s 24-run victory over them in Saint Lucia sent them out of the Super Sixes.

India and Sri Lanka will host the 2026 stage from February 7 through February 8, with the final match taking place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

Stat attack: Australia vs. India

India had won seven of its final eight T20 matches against Australia, including the final three.

Australia’s record of winning more than one match on their own soil against India is disappointing reading, as is the result of their home-grown success.

The last three bilateral T20 matches between Australia, both home and away, have also been won by India.

Is Melbourne the world’s largest cricket stadium?

Although the MCG has a staggering 90,000 capacity, it is not the largest in international cricket. The 132, 000-person Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, will take the title. In contrast, the world’s most well-known cricket ground, Lord’s Cricket Ground, has 31, 100 seats.

Are T20 matches between Australia and India still on sale?

The series’ second match has been a complete sellout for some time. The series’ final three games in Hobart, the Gold Coast, and Brisbane are limited to just three tickets.

In Melbourne, are Australia and India competing with Oasis?

Oasis are playing in Australia at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Friday night for the first time in 20 years, which makes the sellout at the MCG even more impressive. However, it is anticipated that India’s blue support will far outweigh its home support in green and yellow.

🎥 𝘼𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨#TeamIndia reach Melbourne for 2nd #AUSvIND T20I 🛬 👌 pic. twitter.com/MIadTIuEWz

What has Australia said prior to their second game against India?

Tim David and Nathan Ellis are both in line to make their first appearances at the renowned MGC on Friday despite having played nearly 100 internationals together.

The guys who haven’t been there and done it will have an experience, Ellis said.

“I was just talking to [Marcus Stoinis] about the first days of the BBL], when he described the Melbourne Derby as being exciting and cool, and gave us an overview of his experiences there.

It’s an exciting prospect because I’m so excited to play in front of a sizable crowd at MCG. That one has been on the calendar for a while for a few of us.

What time will the Australia-India T20 series take place?

Second T20I vs. India, MCG, Melbourne on October 31.
• Third T20I match between India and Australia on November 2 at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
• Fourth T20I vs. India, November 6 at Gold Coast Stadium in Gold Coast
• Fifth T20I vs. India, The Gabba, Brisbane on November 8.

news from the Australian national team

The team that likely launched the series’ first abandoned T20 international is likely to be Australia.

Josh Hazlewood’s final game in the series is up for grabs, and Sean Abbott will have one more to come. The pair will then play first-class Sheffield Shield matches before starting the Ashes Test series against England.

Adam Zampa is unable to participate in the series because of paternity leave, while Cameron Green misses the entire series to focus on the Ashes.

With a back injury, Pat Cummins misses the series and will miss the first Test against the English.

While Glenn Maxwell is recovering from a broken wrist, Ben Dwarshuis, who is also recovering from injury, will take Abbott’s place after the second game. After this game, Mahli Beardman will also be a member of the squad as a reinforcement and could make his international debut.

News from the India team

The same side that was named after the opening T20 game will also be named by India.

After missing the ODI series, Jasprit Bumrah made his return to the India squad for the T20s.

Hardik Pandya’s injury-plagued Hardik Pandya was replaced by Nitish Kumar Reddy for the tour, the only addition to the squad chosen for the successful Asia Cup campaign in September. The fast-bowling all-star had a left quadricep injury that required him to miss the series’ first three games.

slated starting lineup for Australia

Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Philippe, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Marsh (captain).

India starting lineup was anticipated

Authorities failed on Thursday to clear the air and lower pollution levels by seeding the city with thick smog, which blanketed New Delhi. The trial is the most recent attempt by officials to improve the city’s more than 30 million residents’ air quality.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has instructed the armed forces to confront any further Israeli incursion in the country’s south after Israeli forces crossed their shared border and killed a municipal worker during an overnight raid.

The pivotal announcement was made on Thursday after days of Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory in near-daily Israeli violations of a ceasefire that went into effect in November.

The Lebanese forces, unlike the armed group Hezbollah, have generally stayed on the sidelines of the conflict with Israel. But Aoun, a former commander of the Lebanese army, appears to have finally lost his patience with the Israeli-forced status quo.

Aoun ordered the army to “confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory, in defence of Lebanese territory and the safety of citizens”, during a meeting with Brigadier General Rodolphe Haykal, according to a statement from the presidency.

The order came just hours after Israeli soldiers entered the border town of Blida and stormed the town hall, killing municipal worker Ibrahim Salameh, who had been sleeping there, the state-owned National News Agency (NNA) reported.

مراسلة «الأخبار»: استشهاد موظف بلدية بليدا، إبراهيم سلامة، برصاص قوة إسرائيلية توغلت فجر اليوم لأكثر من ألف متر داخل الأراضي اللبنانية واقتحمت مركز البلدية، حيث كان يبيت في إحدى غرفه. بقيت القوة داخل المبنى نحو ساعتين وأطلقت عدة رشقات نارية أصابت سلامة، وألحقت أضراراً في جدران… pic.twitter.com/63BsFGxisx

Translation: Al-Akhbar report: Martyrdom of Blida Municipality employee Ibrahim Salameh by gunfire from an Israeli force that infiltrated more than a thousand metres [0.6 miles] into Lebanese territory at dawn today and stormed the municipality centre, where he was staying overnight in one of its rooms. The force remained inside the building for about two hours and fired several bursts of gunfire that struck Salameh, causing damage to the centre’s walls and contents.

Village residents quoted by NNA said the raid lasted several hours and Israeli forces withdrew at dawn.

The Israeli military confirmed its forces had operated in Blida overnight, saying they opened fire after identifying “an immediate threat” during an operation to destroy infrastructure held by Hezbollah but did not provide evidence. The incident was under review, it added.

It was not immediately clear whether Salameh had been deliberately targeted and, if so, why he would be.

Aoun condemned the attack as part of a pattern of Israeli aggression and said it was launched shortly after a meeting of the committee monitoring the cessation of hostilities.

He urged the committee to go beyond recording violations and to press Israel to abide by the November 27 ceasefire and halt its breaches of Lebanese sovereignty.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the incursion as “a blatant attack on the institutions and sovereignty of the Lebanese state”.

Lebanon’s army has deployed to the area but did not provide details of the operation. The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said it was seeking more information on the incident.

Hezbollah back Lebanese army

Aoun’s orders for the army to confront Israeli incursions have been welcomed by Hezbollah, which said it urged full support for the army.

Hezbollah, created during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and occupation of the south, has been the main regional resistance to Israel in the last few decades, harrying Israel out of Lebanon in 2000, fighting a 2006 war to a deadlock but then suffering huge losses in the hostilities that began in 2023 and the subsequent war that saw its top leaders killed.

The NNA also reported that Israeli forces carried out air strikes on the areas of Mahmoudiyeh and Jarmak in southern Lebanon. No information was immediately available regarding the casualties or damage inflicted. The Israeli military issued a statement saying it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in the capital, Beirut, residents heard the loud buzz of an Israeli Hermes 450 drone, used for surveillance but also capable of carrying multiple deadly payloads.

Israel’s violations of the airspace above Beirut are common and over the past week have become an almost daily occurrence.

Israel has repeatedly bombarded Lebanon, violating the November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities that escalated into months of full-blown war with Hezbollah. In October alone, Israeli strikes have killed more than 20 people in Lebanon, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health.

As part of last year’s ceasefire, Israeli troops were to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle any military infrastructure in the south.

According to the agreement, only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers are to be deployed in southern Lebanon, but Israel still occupies five positions in southern Lebanon.

Under pressure from the United States and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government has moved to begin disarming Hezbollah, which has said it will not lay down its weapons.

Lebanese officials believe Israel’s near-daily strikes aim to prevent any reconstruction in the war-ravaged south.

Israel’s attacks around the Middle East haven’t ceased with the recent ceasefire in Gaza, which itself continues to be bombarded by the Israeli military.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces have launched airstrikes on Mahmoudiyeh and Jarmak. The Israeli strikes are the most recent of Israel’s nearly daily violations of the US-brokered ceasefire, which first started in November and involved Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Following overnight Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a residential building floor collapsed as rescue workers were sifting through the rubble. According to officials, the strikes injured six children out of 13 others.