India vs Australia 2018-19, Third T20I: India Batted Extremely Well: Aaron Finch

India thrashed Australia by six wickets in the third and final T20I in Sydney to level the three-match series.

For the first time in the series, rain did not play spoilsport and India did not squander the chance to assert their authority over the hosts. The Men in Blue came up with a clinical effort to dismantle Australia and level the series.

Batting first, Australia were off to a great start.  Aaron Finch and D’Arcy Short gave Australia a flying start, adding 68 runs for the first wicket.

Kuldeep gave India the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Finch and ending the 68-run stand for the first wicket. In the next over, Krunal picked two wickets on consecutive deliveries to reduce Australia to 73 for 3 from 68 for no loss. The left-arm spinner first sent back Short before accounting for Ben McDermott for a duck. The pressure got the better of Maxwell too as he perished for just 13 while playing a big shot.

Alex Carey hit a few boundaries but he too failed to get going. Australia never got the impetus in the second half of the innings and were eventually restricted to 164 for 6.

In reply, India were off to a blistering start. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan fired on all cylinders right from the start. The duo added 67 runs in just 5.3 overs to set the tone for the chase. Australia then managed to remove both the openers in quick succession to revive their hopes. Some tight overs in the middle and KL Rahul’s wicket turned the match on its head. However, skipper Virat Kohli remained till the end, scoring a fine fifty to take India home in the final over. He was well supported by Dinesh Karthik as the duo shared an unbeaten stand of 60.

Speaking after the game, Finch took nothing away from the visitors and praised them for the blistering star.

They batted extremely well in the powerplay. Always tough to bring it back from 1/67. The way that we fought was brilliant. Rohit and Dhawan are totally different styles of batsmen which is tough for bowlers. That’s why they’ve been such a good opening combination. Still fair bit of work to do but we’re going in the right direction which is nice. Feeling good for the Tests. Will get down to Brisbane and prepare for 5-6 days,” said Finch at the post-match presentation ceremony.