IND v AUS 2020, 1st T20I: India's predicted playing XI

Middle order: Virat Kohli (c), Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya

Manish Pandey may be given a chance to hold down a middle order spot for India.

Virat Kohli looked comfortable batting at No. 3 throughout the IPL. With the uncertainty around KL Rahul's position sorted in both formats, there shouldn't be much of a question about where the Indian captain will bat. Coming off of decent form in the ODI series, Kohli will likely play the anchor role with the aggressive batsmen around him.

Shreyas Iyer was about alright in the ODI series - he hardly scored enough runs to cement his place but showed his ability to control the middle overs well.

The team may just opt for the more experienced Manish Pandey in this role, to test out the Karnataka batsman in this format and provide him his first opportunity on the tour. Pandey has also been extremely consistent in T20Is, and India have a stellar record when he is part of the playing XI.

While India would be tempted to keep Hardik Pandya lower down as a finisher, his scores of 90, 28 and 92* in the ODI series demand more game time. Hence, going by current form, Pandya would be perfect to occupy the No. 5 position while he remains unable to bowl consistently enough.