IND vs AUS: 2nd T20I Review – Rohit Sharma aces the eight-over battle

India beat Australia by six wickets in the second T20I match at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur to level the three-match series to 1-1. The match was delayed by two and half hours due to a wet outfield, which resulted in eight-over an innings game.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first with few changes in the squad. As expected, Jasprit Bumrah returned and replaced Umesh Yadav and due to an eight-over game, Rishabh Pant came in for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. For Australia, Sean Abbott replaced injured pacer Nathan Ellis, who took three wickets in the first match.

Australia lost their last match’s hero Cameron Green on Virat Kohli’s brilliant throw in the second over. Axar Patel bowled out dangerous all-rounder Glenn Maxwell in the same over to give India a flying start. But captain Aaron Finch kept his team in the game with some big shots from the start.

Finch smashed crucial 31 runs off just 15 balls with the help of four fours and a six before getting bowled out on Bumrah’s eye-catching yorker. Matthew Wade, who played a match winning-knock in the first match, smashed three sixes to Harshal Patel in the last over to guide his team to a big 90-run total in just eight overs.

Indian opener Rohit and KL Rahul started well with quick 39-run partnership for the first wicket within the first three overs. But Australia remained in the game with Adam Zampa dismissing Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav on back-to-back deliveries in fifth over. But Rohit kept the target within India’s reach with unbeaten 46 runs off 20 balls. Dinesh Karthik smashed a six and four on the first two deliveries in the last over to chase the target with four balls remaining.

Top Performers of the match:

Rohit Sharma:

Rohit, under pressure for giving away his wicket in the first match, played the captain’s knock to guide India to a spectacular win. He started the innings with two big sixes to Josh Hazlewood in the first over and remained unbeaten on 46 runs off just 20 balls with the help of four fours and four sixes.

Adam Zampa:

Australian spinner took three big wickets of Virat, Rahul, and Suryakumar to give Australia an early advantage. Axar took two big wickets for India, but Zampa’s spell came while defending the target.

What’s next for both teams?

Both India and Australia travel to Hyderabad for the third and final T20I match of this series scheduled at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday, September 25.