Team India got their World T20 campaign off to a good start by winning comfortably against England in the first warm-up game in Dubai on Monday. They take on Australia on Wednesday in what will be their final dress rehearsal before opening against Pakistan on October 24.

India would look to finalise their batting order so that the middle overs are optimally utilised — whether Ishan Kishan should be persisted with in place of Suryakumar Yadav or Hardik Pandya should continue solely as a batter will be on top of their priorities.

As pointed out by Kohli before the warm-up game against England, India’s top three is already settled with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma opening the innings and the captain following at the crucial No.3 position.

Having made a stroke-filled 70 before retiring in the seven-wicket win over England, the young Kishan has staked his claim to a place in the playing XI.

Rishabh Pant (29 not out) was promoted ahead of Suryakumar and it remains to be seen where the latter gets to show his talent on Wednesday.

The talking point, however, remains all-rounder Pandya, who didn’t look comfortable during his brief stay against England. The think-tank, however, trusts Pandya’s abilities and considers him to be among the best finishers of the game.

With Pandya not bowling, India will also miss the sixth bowling option in case one of the five-strong attack has an off day on the field. Will picking Shardul Thakur in the circumstances be more worthwhile? That is something the team management will have to work out.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar failed to impress against England, but Jasprit Bumrah was at his best. Mohammed Shami picked up three wickets while Rahul Chahar was taken to task by the English batsmen.

Come Wednesday, Ravindra Jadeja, Thakur and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy are expected to get a look in before the beginning of the Super 12.

On recent form, since losing the home series against Australia 0-2 before the 2019 ODI World Cup, India have been unbeaten in eight series in a row. Since the 2016 T20 World Cup, India have played 72 T20Is and won 45.

Australia too made a winning start to their preparations with Josh Inglis hitting two fours in the final over to help his side beat New Zealand by three wickets a warm-up match in Abu Dhabi on Monday. There was mixed news for Australia in their first warm-up. David Warner’s horror run continued after he was dismissed for a first-ball duck.

⚫ Match starts: 7.30pm IST