Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli slammed half-centuries as India edged Australia by six wickets in the third and final T20 International in Hyderabad on Sunday, to claim the series 2-1.
India will need another near perfect game to take the five-match series into the decider.
Skipper Sanju Samson will look for support from his batsmen as Rajasthan Royals aim to return to winning ways against laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Monday and keep their play-offs hopes alive.
India will look to clinch the series albeit with a more impactful batting performance from the middle-order in the second T20 International in Ranchi on Friday.
While the batting looks in perfect shape, India's new-look pace department needs to come up with something special against the Proteas in Cuttack on Sunday.
A day after their Test careers met with a dead end, veteran batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane on Friday soldiered on for Saurashtra and Mumbai respectively with contrasting results in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bengaluru.
New Zealand were bundled out for 126
All-rounder Krunal Pandya in all likelihood will make his senior India debut after being named in the final 12 for Sunday's first T20 International against West Indies.
India captain Virat Kohli looked in a relaxed mood along with team-mates KL Rahul and Shivam Dube during their flight to Hyderabad on Tuesday.
'India fans can't wait for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 to start for this reason. We have the players, we have the momentum -- we just need to go out there and execute now.'
The victory would not have been possible without the effort of the bowlers, who did extremely well to restrict the power-packed England batting line-up to a manageable 164/6 in their 20 overs.
Images from the third day's play in the first Test between India and England, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
Jayant Yadav will replace off-spinner Washington Sundar, who tested positive for COVID-19 during the camp in Bengaluru.
The batting as a whole has not clicked for Sunrisers and it is no surprise they find themselves in a desperate situation in the second half of the tournament.
India would look to finalise their batting order for the tournament-proper when they take on Australia in their second and final warm-up game in Dubai on Wednesday.
Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have taken a combined 77 wickets in the past 12 months, six more than India's pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami.
India will aim to shed their archaic playing style for good with a 'young and fearless' bunch in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting in Wellington on Friday.
Hardik, who last rolled his arms over in the Sri Lanka series in July, did not bowl a single over for Mumbai Indians in the second leg of IPL in the UAE.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Punjab Kings and SunRisers Hyderabad in Mumbai on Sunday.
Virat Kohli is appalled by the team's sloppy fielding against West Indies
India's swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday jumped eight places to a career-best 22 following his impressive show in a lost cause in the first Test against South Africa but Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara slipped in the ICC ranking ladder.
"Time will also take account of those registering cases and those getting them registered. Stopping the business of MLAs and allowing friends to loot, is this a change in the system?" he posed.
Pundits believe skipper Virat Kohli is blessed to have at his disposal arguably the best ever Indian pace attack.
The two teams last played each other in the 2019 World Cup.
The absence of the team's established players, such as Virat Kohli and Rishbah Pant as well as KL Rahul, in the upcoming three T20 Internationals will definitely translate into more opportunities for the likes of Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson.
Without Axar's 34 and 2/21, DC may not have won the game.
Pace bowler Avesh Khan said backing from captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid helped him get over the nerves in his debut match for India, in the third T20 International against West Indies on Sunday.
Suryakumar (838) is still second ahead of the blockbuster clash
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals in Pune, on Thursday.
Indian batter Suryakumar continued to hold onto the top position on the latest ICC T20I Rankings.
The only loss that table toppers Gujarat Titans suffered in IPL 2022 so far was against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first round clash.
Formed in 2013, Sunrisers Hyderabad have been one of the most consistent performers, having won the tournament in 2016 and finishing as runners up last year.
Former India pace spearhead Javagal Srinath has raised doubts about the team's bowling attack ahead of the upcoming ODI cricket World Cup though he has rated the defending champions' batting line-up as the strongest going into the showpiece event.
Virat Kohli and Co. arrived in Pune by a chartered flight from Ahmedabad at around 4.45 PM
Images from the first T20 International between India and West Indies at the Brian Lara stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad on Friday.
While Rohit Sharma will lead the side, the inclusion of KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav is subject to fitness.
Navdeep Saini led an impressive bowling display and managed to beat West Indies by four wickets in their first T20 International match
Samson smashed his way to a brilliant 55 from 27 balls, including three fours and five sixes.
Gujarat Titans pride themselves on consistency and will be expected to produce a solid show against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Monday after a rare "flat" performance against Mumbai Indians.
