Home
Abhishek Sharma's efforts went in vain as India suffered a four-wicket defeat against Australia in the second T20I at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Josh Hazlewood's masterful and clinically executed bowling spell dismantled India's top-order. In front of a large crowd of 82,438, India suffered one of their more embarrassing defeats in the format, recording a dismal total of 125 runs in 18.4 overs, with nine of their batters failing to reach double digits. The only significant resistance came from the in-form Abhishek Sharma, who scored a combative 68 off 37 balls. Abhishek, alongside Harshit Rana (35 off 33 balls), forged a crucial 56-run partnership to push the total past the 100-run mark after Hazlewood's exceptional figures of 3 for 13 had left the visitors reeling at 49/5.
Suryakumar Yadav lavishes praise on Abhishek Sharma
Right after the match India captain Suryakumar Yadav was all praise for Abhishek's batting prowess. He said Abhishek has been doing it for a while now and he is not changing his game which is helping him get better match after match.
"Abhishek has been doing this for quite some time now. He knows his game and his identity and he is not changing it anymore and hopefully he sticks to it and plays many more knocks like this for us," Suryakumar said after the match.
Talking about the match, Suryakumar said that his team needs bat well as they did in the first game.
"I think we need to do what we did in the first game. Bat well when batting first and then come out and defend. The way Hazlewood bowled in the powerplay, if you're four down in the powerplay it's difficult to recover from that. Well bowled to him," he added.
Marsh leads Australia's chase
Australia's chase was aggressive and swift. skipper Mitchell Marsh spearheaded the reply, blasting 46 off 26 balls as the hosts completed the chase in just 13.2 overs. Although Australia lost six wickets, mainly due to their batters attempting audacious shots, the low target meant the loss of wickets was inconsequential. For India, the only silver linings aside from Abhishek's brilliant innings were the economical spells from spinners Varun Chakravarthy (2/23 in 4 overs) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/26 in 4 overs), which included a pinpoint yorker to dismiss Matthew Short.
ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya to make India return with South Africa series? Report provides huge injury update
The majority of the Indian batters struggled significantly against the extra bounce and the probing lengths consistently delivered by the Australian pacers, particularly Hazlewood. This match clearly exposed the technical vulnerabilities of a few Indian players against pace and bounce. However, the team management is unlikely to be overly concerned, as the upcoming T20 World Cup will be played in Indian conditions. The pitches there offer minimal seam movement and typically keep the ball low, rarely rising above knee height, which should minimize these weaknesses. Moreover, wickets offering a bit of grip will instead be highly beneficial to India’s key spin trio: Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel.
Meanwhile, the third and final T20I will be played in Hobart on November 2.
ADVERTISEMENT
