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Twitter Reacts As Australia Beat India By 12 Runs To Avert A Whitewash

By Yash Mittal

Updated - 08 Dec 2020, 06:28 PM

Australia [Photo-Twitter]

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A brilliant innings by Virat Kohli was trumped by an imperious all-round bowling performance by Australian bowlers-led by their spinner and Andrew Tye as the home side beat India in the third T20I by 12 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground to avert a 0-3 whitewash in the three-match series.

Chasing 187 to win, India got off to the worst possible start as they lost KL Rahul in the very first over. Australia’s ploy of opening the attack with Glenn Maxwell worked brilliantly as his KXIP captain failed to nail the half-tracker to give an easy catch to Steve Smith at the deep midwicket boundary. This was KL Rahul’s first single-digit score in his last 25 T20I innings.

Maxwell could have got his second scalp in his succeeding over but for Steve Smith, who kept up with the tradition of dropped catches by shelling a regulation chance off Virat Kohli at wide long-off.

Virat Kohli [Photo-Twitter]
After looking a bit edgy in the first two overs, Virat Kohli eventually found his groove as he creamed some sumptuous boundaries off Daniel Sams, Andrew Tye, and Sean Abbott, and along with Shikhar Dhawan, ensured that India made full use of the powerplay despite losing the prized scalp of Rahul.

Australia eventually got the breakthrough courtesy Mitchell Swepson in the 9th over after Shikhar Dhawan pulled hard to the left of mid-wicket, only to see Daniel Sams gobble the catch in the second attempt. India scored 27 runs for the loss of Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket between overs 6-10, taking their score to 2-82 after 10.

India, Australia
Mitchell Swepson [Photo-Twitter]
Kohli eventually completed his 25th T20I fifty with a single in the 12th over but boundaries continued to allude the Indians. Eventually, it led to the demise of Sanju Samson, who in an attempt to loft Swepson towards the wide long-on region hit it straight to Steve Smith, falling for a 9-ball 10. Swepson dealt India with yet another blow in the same over as he trapped Shreyas Iyer plumb in front of the wicket.

With 76 runs needed off the last 30 balls, India needed Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya to pull off a heist for the ages. The India captain once again showed his unorthodox side in the 16th over as he flicked Sams for a six over mid-wicket before he nonchalantly top-edged the bowler for another maximum over short fine-leg. Pandya joined Kohli by flat-batting Sams over backward point for an outrageous six to take 20 off the over.

India, Australia
Hardik Pandya [Photo-Twitter]
Pandya smashed a four and a six [a check-drive over long-on] off Andrew Tye in the next over before Adam Zampa eventually led to his demise courtesy a leading edge off the latters bat. With 36 needed off the last 12 balls, it was all down to Virat Kohli as far as India’s hopes were concerned.

Matthew Wade missed a crucial stumping of Virat [85 off 61 balls] on the final ball of Adam Zampa’s over but it did not prove to be costly as Andrew Tye dismissed the Indian captain on the first ball of the 19th over to ensure that the final nail in India’s coffin was hammered. Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar stroked some lusty blows in the end but it eventually proved to be a bridge too far to scale.

Half-centuries from Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell guide Australia to 5/186 against a lackluster India

Earlier in the day, Australia once got off to a brilliant start thanks to yet another whirlwind knock by opener Matthew Wade. And, that happened despite Washington Sundar dismissing skipper Aaron Finch for a second-ball duck.

India, Australia
Matthew Wade [Photo-Twitter]
Wade blazed away in the powerplay even as his partner Steve Smith scored at less than run-a-ball. Australia posted 1/51 in the mandatory powerplay. Smith, who struggled his way to a lackluster 23-ball 24 was finally dismissed by Washington Sundar in the 10th over.

T Natarajan was once again sensational with the ball and he could have easily got the dangerous Matthew Wade, who had smoked his second consecutive half-century after he had trapped him right in front of the wicket but before Kohli and India could take the DRS, the giant screen showed the replay within the allotted time, forcing the umpire to disallow the review, giving Wade a lucky escape.

India, Australia
Glenn Maxwell [Photo-Twitter]
Glenn Maxwell looked in swashbuckling form right from the outset, but he too could have been dismissed after he top-edged Yuzvendra Chahal in the 13th over, only to find out that the leg-spinner had overstepped. Maxwell clobbered Chahal for two monstrous sixes in his next over before surviving a close caught-behind call off the last ball.

Glenn Maxwell continued to live a charmed life. After having survived a catch on no-ball on 19, he got yet another chance when Deepak Chahar dropped him off Shardul Thakur’s bowling on the score of 38. Maxwell once again used it to the hilt by smoking Thakur for a six before hitting a boundary off T Natarajan to get past the 50-run-mark in 31 balls.

Shardul Thakur eventually got his first wicket when he trapped Matthew Wade LBW for 80 in the 19th over. He could have got one more in the form of Glenn Maxwell, but for yet another dropped catch by an Indian fielder- this time by Yuzvendra Chahal.

After getting four reprieves, Maxwell was eventually knocked over by T Natarajan in the final over but two boundaries off the next five balls ensured that Australia finished at 5/186.

 

Here’s how Twitter reacted-

https://twitter.com/T20Nomad/status/1336241824130711557

https://twitter.com/iravisinha/status/1336248588670660611

https://twitter.com/benjonescricket/status/1336230951458836481

 

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