Team India won their ninth successive T20I match as Hardik Pandya smashed an unbeaten 42 in just 22 balls to help chase down 195. With it, Team India won the series 2-0, with a game to spare. The batting was clinical throughout the 20 overs, though, which allowed Pandya to finish on a high. Needing close to 10 an over right from the start, the opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul started off at a rapid pace, putting on 56 runs in the first six overs.
Even after the departure of Rahul, skipper Virat Kohli, who usually needs time to get his eye in, started off aggressively and smashed a fine 40 in just 22 balls. He started off proceedings with a shot to sweeper cover, and despite the fall of Dhawan and Sanju Samson, who once again fell to a loose shot after a good start, in quick succession, Team India never allowed the asking rate to climb, thus allowing Shreyas Iyer and Pandya to finish off the innings on a high even when 39 were needed off the last 14 balls.
Iyer, a good player of spin, attacked Adam Zampa in the 18th over, with a 111-meter six that got down the equation considerably. A four followed the six, and it was left to Pandya to attack the faster bowlers. Though the Baroda cricketer missed the first three balls of the 19th over that were wide of the off stump, he backed himself and got India back into the game with two successive fours. A sliced four and a boundary through the covers along with a couple of sixes in the last over meant that India registered a fine series win. Virat Kohli has now led his team to T20I series wins in South Africa, New Zealand, England, and Australia – the first skipper to do so.
The streak goes on 🇮🇳
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— Cricket News (@cricketnews_com) December 6, 2020
Earlier, the Australian cricket team got off to a flier, with stand-in skipper Matthew Wade attacking Deepak Chahar and Washington Sundar in the powerplay overs. The opener lofted, cut, and pulled with ease as the Indians were on the backfoot from the very start. Despite the fall of D’Arcy Short, Wade did not allow the run rate to dip as he got his 50 off 24 balls, with the help of 10 fours and a six.
Though Wade was eventually run out off a dropped catch by Kohli, Steven Smith held one end up as the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Moises Henriques continued the momentum. Marcus Stoinis, who was fit for the game, and debutant Daniel Sams hit a few boundaries towards the end, which meant that the Aussies finished with a competitive 194.
The third and final T20I will be played at the same venue, the Sydney Cricket Ground, on Tuesday.
Brief Scores: Australia 194/5 (Matthew Wade 58, Steve Smith 46; T Natarajan 2-20) lost to India 195/4 (Shikhar Dhawan 52, Hardik Pandya 42*, Virat Kohli 40*) by 6 wickets.