Australia won the second T20I by 4 wickets.
After the first AUS vs IND T20I was eaten away by rain, the second fixture of the five-match T20I series found its way to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Australia went up 1-0 in the series after a resounding victory over the Men in Blue in one of the biggest stadiums in the world.
Indian captains and victories at the toss are like water in a desert – very rare! Suryakumar Yadav once again lost the coin toss, and all he could do is look towards his camp signalling that they need to do some form of a ritual for winning the toss. Mitchell Marsh put Indian in to bat. However, the Indian skipper mentioned that he would have batted first as well.
The 2nd T20I of the AUS vs IND T20I series was a one-sided affair, with the hosts clinching the game by four wickets. Starting with Josh Hazlewood, the Australians wreaked havoc in the powerplay and the Indians were never in a position to bounce back into the game. Abhishek Sharma tried his best with a gritty knock, but 125 was never going to be enough.
Here are a few key takeaways from the fixture:
The Men in Blue started off fine. After the first over from Josh Hazlewood, which was pretty good from a T20I point of view, Abhishek Sharma took Steven Bartlett to the cleaners. It seemed like the Indians were off to a great start. But Hazlewood was always going to be back in the third over.
And he was! But he didn’t just come back. He dented the Indians, one wicket at a time. And in no time, the visitors were reduced to 32/4. But amid all the chaos, stood Abhishek Sharma.
This innings of 68 was different from the aggressive left-handed opener, who was perceived to know just one way to play the game. But over the course of this knock, he showed a different side to his game. After the wickets started tumbling, Abhishek slowed his game down to adapt to the situation. The fiery left-hander still ended scoring 68 off just 37 deliveries, but there was a method to his madness.
Axar Patel was run out in the eighth over. Trying for a third run, he was sent back by Abhishek. The all-rounder slipped on his way back to the crease, and was dismissed by an accurate throw by Tim David. However, that was not the surprising part from the fixture.
Shivam Dube was all set to come out to bat after Axar fell. To everyone’s surprise, Harshit Rana walked out to bat, and he even scored a sturdy 35, forming a well-crafted partnership with the Indian opener. The speedster smashed three fours and a solitary six during his stay at the crease.
Though Harshit’s heroics with the bat were crucial for India in this fixture, the decision to promote him ahead of Dube leaves us with an important question – What about the likes of Rinku Singh?
Rinku Singh is already not being able to break into the Indian XI in the shortest format. Add to that, some more competition in the form of Harshit Rana, and his position becomes even more shaky. Rinku has been a proven finisher not just for India, but also for his IPL franchise. If the Indian management is looking at transforming Harshit into an all-rounder, that leaves very little room for players like Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube, considering Hardik Pandya’s comeback into the side.
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Since quite a while now, picking bowlers who can bat has been a template for the Indians over pure bowlers. Though the Indians have persisted with Harshit Rana for some time now, the speedster showcased his ability with the bat in the 2nd T20I.
However, the visitors have been showcasing a pattern of benching Arshdeep Singh in quite a few fixtures in recent times. The left-arm pacer has displayed his class all over the format in the IPL as well, and should be one of the first players to start in the XI. The 26-year-old has an impeccable yorker and can trouble the batters at the death, restricting them to go big.
On the other hand, India’s trump card Jasprit Bumrah had an off-day in the second AUS vs IND T20I. He scalped two wickets in his last over, but by then, it was too late. However, the spearhead was too wayward in the first half on the innings, which let the Australians off the mark easily.
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