In the second T20I match against Team India, Australia secured a victory by four wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
During the match, Team India`s swashbuckling opening batsman Abhishek Sharma played a knock of 68 runs off just 37 deliveries. His knock also included eight boundaries and two maximums.
Reflecting on Abhishek`s game on Friday, skipper Suryakumar Yadav said the left-hander has carved his own identity and will hopefully deliver more similar knocks for the “Men in Blue”.
“Abhishek has been doing this for quite some time now. He knows his game and his identity,” Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation.
“He is not changing it anymore and hopefully he sticks to it and plays many more knocks like this for us,” the skipper added.
During the match, Australia`s lead pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed three wickets by conceding just 13 runs in his spell of four overs.
The Indian skipper heaped praise on the opponent team`s pacer, stating, “The way he (Hazlewood) bowled in the powerplay, if you`re four down in the powerplay it`s difficult to recover from that. Well bowled”.
When asked what the takeaway was from the loss, he said, “I think we need to do what we did in the first game. Bat well when batting first and then come out and defend”.
During the match, Harshit Rana emerged as the second-highest run-scorer for the “Men in Blue”. He scored 35 runs facing 33 balls, with the help of three boundaries and a maximum. Team India were bowled out for 125 runs in 18.4 overs.
Along with Hazlewood, Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis bagged two wickets each, while Marcus Stoinis picked up one wicket.
Later, while chasing 126 runs, Australia`s skipper Mitchell Marsh smashed 46 runs off just 26 balls. His knock was laced with two boundaries and four maximums.
Travis Head and Josh Inglis registered scores of 28 and 20 runs, respectively. Facing 15 balls, Head smashed three boundaries and a maximum. On the other hand, Inglis faced 20 balls and registered a boundary.
Team India`s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, along with Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, claimed two wickets each. Despite their efforts, the side suffered a loss by four wickets.
With this, the Aussies have taken a lead by 1-0 in the five-match T20I series against India. The first match was abandoned due to rain.
(With PTI Inputs)