Australia v India 3rd T20I - 5 Talking points

What a way to level the tour. After losing the ODI series 4-1, the Indians made up for their early failure in the best possible way- by whitewashing the hosts in the T20I series. India had already pocketed the series 2-0. The visitors hoped for a whitewash but it was a difficult task to achieve, nobody had done it in the past 140 years! The third match was regarded as a dead rubber but it didn’t turn out to be one. The Aussies batted dominatingly and posted a massive 198 runs target for India to chase. India, in reply, started with a bang. Kohli yet again helped India’s cause. Suresh Raina played under pressure and kept India in the contest. The match hung in favour of both teams till the last over of the match until Yuvraj Singh brought the turnaround. In the end, India won the match by seven wickets to blank the Australians 3-0 and claim the top spot in the T20I rankings.

1.Shane Watson special at the SCG:

Australia’s stand-in skipper Shane Watson batted like an immortal today and smashed the undisciplined Indian bowlers all around the SCG. Watson opened with debutant Usman Khawaja and remained unconquered till the end of the Australian innings. The beefy right-hander muscled 10 boundaries and 4 sixes in his knock of 121 runs off just 71 deliveries and injected life into the dead rubber game. This thunderbolt knock took Australia to a highly formidable total of 197/5 after 20 overs.  His innings created several records. Watson became the second-highest score in T20 internationals. This was also the 1st T20I century in Australia and also, the first century scored against India in the shortest format of the game.

 2. Indian bowlers rendered ineffective:

Indian bowlers were totally disappointing today. All conceded runs in plenty and failed to contain Australian batsman. Spinners, who starred in the team’s previous two victories, also were a letdown. For the record, every Indian bowler was smashed for over 8 runs an over. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja bowled at an economy of over 10 runs and gave away the most numbers of runs in the first innings.  It was stunning to see 28 full tosses being gifted to the Aussies who made most of it by plundering most of them for either fours or maximums. Fortunately, they covered up by bowling well during the death, conceding just 29 runs off the last three overs.

3. Indian top-order hammers Australians:

With daunting target staring at their face, India fans hoped for the top order to fire once again. And, they did not disappoint as the Sharma and Dhawan went after Shaun Tait and Scott Boland. The openers were scoring at over 13 runs per over initially. However, just when the team total was racing towards a half-century stand, the man of the moment Shane Watson halted the rollercoaster partnership after he dismissed Dhawan in the 4th over. The Indians did not feel the loss of Dhawan as Virat Kohli then joined in with Rohit to carry on hitting the Australian bowlers. Both shared a match-turning 78 runs partnership took India to a winning situation. However, Cameron Boyce provided some relief to the host after he managed to break the booming stand by making Sharma depart for a well-made 52 off 38 balls.

4. Virat Kohli shines yet again for India:

Virat Kohli was at his best yet again. Kohli came and added more fire to the wonder start which India had in reply to the mammoth target of 198 runs. The Delhite was in full flow and continued his amazing run-scoring form. He shared an aggressive 78 runs partnership with his equally magnificent batting partner Rohit Sharma. He looked very dangerous and was a cause of worry for Australia. However, there was a sigh of relief for the hosts after leg-spinner Cameron Boyce managed to york him and clean him up. Kohli returned to the dugout for a fantastic 50 off 36 balls. The right-hander in the last 8 innings has surpassed the 50 runs mark seven times.

5. Breathtaking finish:

The Indian top order was fabulous like they have been in the Australian tour so far. However, Australia clawed back into the game after Sharma and Kohli were dismissed in space of three overs. This put the onus on Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh to finish the game. Raina immediately pushed the accelerator and looked up to the task. However, Yuvi was struggling at the other end. He played very slowly and was at 2 runs off six deliveries, reminding the Indian fans of the 11 of 21 innings he played in WT20 final against Sri Lanka. 22 runs were required off the last two overs. However, Watson bowled a miserly penultimate over and the equation boiled down to 17 runs off the final six balls. And, then came the Yuvraj surprise’ he flicked Andrew Tye for a 4 and a 6 from the first two balls to make everyone jump from the seat. Raina did the rest of the job and hit the winning runs to complete the wonderful whitewash. (Also read: Twitter Reaction: India complete whitewash in a gripping encounter)