Picture : BCCI/ Twitter
After losing the ODI series to Australia 2-1 , India bounced back brilliantly to win the T20I series . They clinched the series with a 6 wicket win at the Sydney cricket ground to lead the three match 2-0 . The third match will be played on 8th in Sydney.
After put into bat by Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Matthew Wade leading the side Australian side in the absence of regular skipper Aaron Finch(inured) opened the batting and Wade was brilliant from the start with shots all- round the wicket. He took the attack to the Indian bowlers with a fine 32 ball 58 . Steve Smith struggled to get his timing and struggled to 48 ball 36. D Arcy Short fell for 9. The absence of David Warner at the top has been badly felt. Glenn Maxwell looked set for a big score but he fell for 22 . Moises Henriques scored ( 26). Marcus Stoinis 16 and Daniel Sams 8 remained unbeaten as Australia finished at an impressive 194/5 in their twenty overs.
For India, T Natarajan continued to impress and was the star with 2/20 (4 overs), Shardul Thakur 1/39 (4 overs) , Yuzvendra Chahal was expensive 1/51 ( 4 overs), Deepak Chahar 0/48 ( 4 overs), Washington Sundar 0/36 (4 overs)
In reply after a slow start, openers vice- captain KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan opened up superbly and scored qucik runs in the power play racing to 56 in 5.2 overs . K L Rahul was out for 30. Skipper Virat Kohli was in terrific form and scored a aggressive 24 ball 40. Virat even played scoop shot for six reminding fans of A B De Villiers.
.@imVkohli‘s scoop shot has @ABdeVilliers17‘s approval ?#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/nYTdVs62jS
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 6, 2020
Shikhar Dhawan stroked an important half- century of 52 to keep India in the hunt. Sanju Samson once again messed up the opportunity to score big and was out for 15. Towards the end India needed quick runs . And Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya provided that and both remained unbeaten and saw India home . Iyer scored a vital 12 off 5. And needing 14 of the last over bowled by Daniel Sams, Hardik scored 2,6.0,6 to seal India the series with two balls to spare. Hardik remained unbeaten on a 22 ball 42 . The Aussie bowling inexperience was clearly visible. India finishing at 195/4 in 19.4 overs.
The Aussie bowling figures read : Daniel Sams 1/41 ( 3.4 overs), Adam Zampa 1/36 (4 overs), Mitchell Swepson 1/25 ( 4 overs), Glenn Maxwell 1/19 ( 1 overs), Andrew Tye 1/47 (4 overs), Sean Abbott 0/17 ( 2 overs), Moises Henriques 0/9 ( 1 overs). Before the match Mitchell Starc pulled for the rest of the T20 matches on compassionate grounds due to illness in family, Josh Hazelhood was included in the playing eleven. Pat Cummins already rested for the series. Aussie selection left a lot to be desired.
