- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
India were quick to apply balm to their Asia Cup disappointment on Sunday (25) when they beat world champions Australia in the deciding game of the three-match T20 series by six wickets to bag the series 2-1 by coming from behind. Chasing 187 to win in 20 overs, India clinched a thriller with a ball to spare.
Home captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first and Aaron Finch’s side put up a competitive total of 186 for 7 in 50 overs, thanks to some ordinary bowling from the Indian seamers.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar had yet another dull day in office as he conceded 39 runs in three overs but picked the wicket of opener Cameron Green who looked dangerous by scoring 52 off just 21 balls. Jasprit Bumrah, who made a comeback to the national side in this series, proved too expensive as they gave away 50 runs in his four. Another pacer Harshal Patel bowled just two overs but conceded 18. He got the wicket of Tim David. All-rounder Hardik Pandya gave 23 runs in three overs.
Among the Australia batters, David’s 54 off 27 balls at No.6 was the highest followed by Green. Daniel Sams’s 28 not out off 20 and Josh Inglish’s 24 off 22 were the other notable knocks for the visitors.
India left-arm spinner Axar Patel was the most successful bowler for his side with three wickets for 33 runs in four overs.
The hosts’ chase was disappointing as they lost both openers KL Rahul (1 off 4) and Sharma (17 off 14) inside the fourth over with the score reading only 30. But Virat Kohli’s 63 off 48 and Suryakumar Yadav’s 69 off 36 mended things as India roared back into the race by adding 104 runs for the third wicket in just over 10 overs.
After Yadav’s exit, Pandya (25 not out off 16) came together with Kohli to add 48 runs before the latter fell in the final over after hitting a six off Sams and trying to hit a boundary in the next ball to finish off the match early. But Pandya ensured that India reached home by putting the ball to the boundary in the short third with a thick edge.
Sams took two wickets for Australia while Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins took one each.
Yadav was adjudged the player of the match.
Australia won the first match in Mohali by four wickets while India won a rain-curtailed second game in Nagpur by six wickets.
Brief scores: India 187 for 4 in 19.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 69, Virat Kohli 63, Daniel Sams 2 for 32) beat Australia 186 for 7 in 20 overs (Tim David 54, Cameron Green 52, Axar Patel 3 for 33) by 6 wickets
