Australia and Scotland will clash in the first T20I of the three-match series at Grange Cricket Club Ground at Edinburgh on Wednesday. Australia are the number two ranked T20I side in the world whereas Scotland are ranked number 13. The Aussies will be led by Mitchell Marsh while Scotland will be captained by Richie Berrington.

LAST 5 MATCHES

AUSTRALIA: W W W L L

SCOTLAND: L NR W W L

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR AUSTRALIA AND SCOTLAND

AUSTRALIA likely XI

Batters: Tim David, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh

Allrounders: Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis

Wicketkeeper: Josh Inglis

Bowlers: Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Riley Meredith

SCOTLAND likely XI

Batters: Richie Berrington, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen

Allrounders: Jack Jarvis, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask

Wicketkeeper: George Munsey, Matthew Cross

Bowlers: Bradley Currie, Brad Wheal, Mark Watt

Statistical Performance (Australia)

1. ADAM ZAMPA

Adam Zampa is a champion of the T20 format and has bagged 105 wickets for Australia in 86 T20I appearances at a strike rate of 17.9 and economy rate of 7.22.

ADAM ZAMPA IN T20Is

INNINGS -86

WICKETS - 105

STRIKE RATE - 17.9

ECONOMY - 7.22

AVERAGE - 21.6

2. TRAVIS HEAD

Travis Head will be key for Australia in the powerplay. He is one of the most attacking limited-overs batters in the world who has scored 911 runs at a strike rate of 150 in T20I cricket.

TRAVIS HEAD IN T20Is

INNINGS - 32

RUNS - 911

AVERAGE - 32.53

STRIKE RATE - 150.08

50/100 - 3/0

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Australia)

1. JAKE FRASER-MCGURK

Jake Fraser-McGurk is yet to make his T20I debut but has a brilliant record in T20 cricket with 1056 runs in 51 innings at a strike rate of 153.5. Fraser-McGurk was in ballistic form in IPL 2024 and smashed 330 runs in 9 innings at a strike rate of 234!

2. TIM DAVID

Tim David is one of the fiercest hitters in T20 cricket and has a fabulous record in T20Is having smashed 1123 runs in 41 innings at an average of 36.2 and strike rate of 162.75.

Statistical Performance (Scotland)

1. RICHIE BERRINGTON

Richie Berrington will be the playmaker for Scotland with the bat. He has an aggregate of 2194 runs in 85 innings at an average of 32.26 and strike rate of 132.32.

RICHIE BERRINGTON IN T20Is

INNINGS - 85

RUNS - 2194

AVERAGE - 32.26

STRIKE RATE - 132.32

50/100 - 10/1

2. GEORGE MUNSEY

George Munsey will be the aggressor for Scotland and has an aggregate of 2006 runs in 69 innings at a strike rate of 143.4.

GEORGE MUNSEY IN T20Is

INNINGS - 69

RUNS - 2006

AVERAGE - 31.34

STRIKE RATE - 143.4

50/100 - 11/2

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Scotland)

1. BRADLEY CURRIE

Bradley Currie has had a fine start to his T20I career and picked 21 wickets in just 12 innings at a strike rate of 12.2 and economy of 4.86.

2. MARK WATT

Mark Watt is a big wicket-taker in T20I cricket and has a tally of 80 wickets in 64 innings at a strike rate of 17.4 and economy of 6.88.

Venue and Pitch

The Grange Cricket Club Ground at Edinburgh has hosted 24 T20Is with advantage to the team setting the target. The team batting first has won 16 of these encounters. Interestingly though, chasing still remains the preferred option at the venue with the captain winning the toss electing to field 14 times.

The average score batting first at Edinburgh is 171 while the average score chasing is 137.

The probability of winning the match after winning the toss is 50%. The pitch at Edinburgh suits the pacers more who have accounted for 61% of the wickets at the venue at a strike rate of 16.9. The spinners, however, have been more restrictive with an economy rate of 7.8.

MATCH PREDICTION

Australia start favourites but Scotland would be no pushovers. Australia has a very destructive batting line-up and some quality in their bowling unit too. Australia has a 70% chance of winning the match.

Fantasy XI:

Wicketkeepers: George Munsey, Josh Inglis

Batters: Tim David, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head (VC), Richie Berrington

Allrounders: Marcus Stoinis, Michael Leask

Bowlers: Adam Zampa (C), Sean Abbott, Bradley Currie

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER – Mitchell Marsh

BOWLER – Mark Watt

ALL-ROUNDER – Jack Jarvis

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