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Gabba T20 to set summer's tone: Finch

Australia look to Brisbane venue's formidable record as they seek to start the summer showpiece on a winning note

Aaron Finch is confident Australia's redefined approach to aggressive cricket will pack a punch when they welcome India to the Gabba on Wednesday.

But Australia need to arrest their losing slump in quick fashion. Finch's side was humbled by South Africa 2-1 in the recent Gillette ODI series and one-off Twenty20, with Proteas' captain Faf du Plessis describing the hosts as "tame" to local journalists on his return.


Australia's short form captain disagreed with that perception but admitted South Africa's dominance had made it difficult for the home side to assert themselves this summer.

"South Africa were all over us from the start of that series with the ball," Finch said on Tuesday.

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"It's pretty hard to come out and have so much presence when they're so far ahead ... but I'm not sure about that (claim of being tame) to be honest."

Just five wins and a draw – including three T20 wins against Zimbabwe and the UAE – have come from Australia's 21 games across all formats since the ill-fated tour of South Africa.

Wednesday's Gillette T20 series opener in Brisbane will be followed by two more T20s in Melbourne and Sydney, where Finch hopes they'll rediscover their strut before the four-match Domain Test Series and three ODIs that follow.

"The verbal stuff is the easy stuff and gets a bit lost sometimes," Finch said.

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"It's about your body language and presence on the ground, that's what Australia always prides itself on in all sport.

"It can change quickly. One innings with the bat or one spell or bit of brilliance in the field to turn a match and turn a series.

"This is an opportunity to play some aggressive, attacking cricket, take the game on and take it to India."

We'll take the game to India: Finch

India have enjoyed success in the short forms on Australian shores but never won a Test series in the country.

With key batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner serving bans, captain Virat Kohli is doing his best to keep a lid on the hype but admits an element of unknown awaits.

"We haven't played against Australia after everything that happened (in South Africa) so I can't say what the atmosphere is going to be (like) on the ground," he said.

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"There's no denying the quality they have in their side. They still have world class cricketers especially in the limited overs team, who can do damage at any given point in time."

Finch hinted that allrounder Ashton Agar could come into the side, potentially forming an all-West Australian attack alongside Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye, Marcus Stoinis and D'Arcy Short.

India named their 12 for the match via social media after Kohli had finished speaking with journalists, with a strong focus on their bowling strength.

India will most likely play two spinners, with the economical Krunal Pandya to tie up an end with Kuldeep Yadav to attack, while highly rated seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will take the new ball.

India XI: (one to be omitted): Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Gillette T20s v India

Gillette T20s v South Africa 

Gillette T20s v India

November 21: The Gabba

November 23: MCG

November 25: SCG

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

India T20 squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed.