AUS vs IND: Top 5 performers from Australia-India T20I series

The limited-overs leg between Australia and India concluded on Tuesday where Australia clinched the final T20I to avoid getting whitewashed. India had a rather collective effort through the series which helped them to win it with a scoreline of 2-1. Australia had quite a few individuals stepping up for the team in the first two matches but lacked team effort which came in the 3rd T20I only.

Here are the top five performers from the 3-match T20I series against Australia and India:

5. Mitchell Swepson – 5 wickets

Mitchell Swepson was made to travel down the highway to join Australia’s T20I squad at the last moment. An hour later, Swepson got the better of Virat Kohli despite being expensive. In the following two games, he gave away only 48 runs and took four wickets including a 3-wicket haul in the final T20I and won the player of the match award.

Super Swepson! @mitchswepson gets better with every game – in the third T20I he took a career-best 3-23 ? #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/mAEMrvrY17

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 9, 2020

4. Moises Henriques – 61 runs; SR – 152.5; 3 wickets

Moises Henriques began the series with a 30-run knock backed by a 3-wicket haul with the ball. In the second game, he played a useful hand with the bat scoring 26 runs alongside Steve Smith. Across three matches, Moises scored 61 runs at a strike rate of 152.5. He also took three wickets with the ball in the five overs he bowled which cost only 31 runs.

3. Thangarasu Natarajan – 6 wickets

The new bowling sensation of India, Thangarasu Natarajan was at his best during the T20I series and finished as the leading wicket-taker. The left-arm pacer bagged six wickets across three matches and conceded only 83 runs in the 12 overs he bowled at an average of 13.83. Natarajan made things difficult for the Australian batsmen who struggled to score runs at a quick pace at the death.

2. Matthew Wade: 145 runs; SR – 154.26

BOOOM!

Welcome to the attack Shardul! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/wHJwAQl5i9

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 8, 2020

Matthew Wade started the series with a low-score in the middle-order but bounced back when he got a chance to open the batting that too as a captain in the 2nd game. He cruised to a quick-fire fifty by reaching the milestone in only 25 balls. Wade continued his good batting form in the final game as well when he struck 80 only to finish the series as the leading run-getter with 145 runs which came at 154.25 strike rate.

1. Hardik Pandya – 78 runs; SR – 156; 4 catches

Hardik Pandya scored a total of 78 runs in the three matches of the series at a strike rate of 156. He struck as many as five sixes across the three innings and scored an unbeaten 42 during the 2nd T20I. The knock helped India to win the T20I series by chasing down a huge target of 195. Hardik was also the best fielder in terms of catching as he took four catches while no other Indian claimed more than one.