Rain washes out Twenty20 series opener between Australia and India

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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The series-opening Twenty20 cricket international between Australia and India was washed out Wednesday after persistent rain restricted play to less than 10 overs.

Australia skipper Mitch Marsh won the toss and sent India in to bat.

T20 World Cup champion India batted for 9.4 overs and reached 97-1 before rain stopped play a second time, with Surykumar Yadav unbeaten on 39 off 24 deliveries and Shubman Gill not out 37 off 20 balls.

An hour later, umpires declared the match over.

The only wicket to fall was Abhishek Sharma, who scored 19 from 14 deliveries before he chipped Nathan Ellis to Tim David at mid-off in the fourth over.

Australia paceman Josh Hazlewood bowled three overs for 24 runs and Ellis' 1.4 overs went for 25, with Yadav hitting back-to-back boundaries and a six in his last over.

The second game in the five-match series is on Friday in Melbourne, where both teams will continue finetuning strategies for the T20 World Cup in India next year.

Australia won the preceding three-match one-day international series 2—1, starting with a seven-wicket victory in Perth and following up with a two-wicket win in Adelaide.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket