Team India and Australia have been playing some wonderful cricket in the three-match t20 series. The final game of the series was played in Hyderabad with the series tied at 1-1. Australia started quite strongly with the bat with Cameron Green taking the Indian bowlers to the cleaners. But India somehow managed to come back strongly and dominate in the middle overs. But thanks to some exceptional hitting by Tim David & Daniel Sams and some sloppy Indian bowling at the death, Australia managed to set a huge target of 187 runs for team India to win the series.
Hyderabad has been a very special venue for teams chasing. The pitch is quite suitable for batting and the ball comes onto the bat quite nicely. But Indian batsmen knew that the Aussie bowlers would make life difficult for them and so they did. When India came out to bat, Finch made a tactical change to bring on Sams instead of the usual Cummins and Hazelwood combination. And the change worked as it paid dividends instantly.
K.L Rahul was dismissed by Sams in the very first over. Rohit counterattacked with some good shots and a few edges but he got out in the 4th over to Cummins. Things were suddenly looking bleak for the men in blue as the run rate required was already above 10 and two batsmen were already in the hut.
The SKY & King Show
And that’s when SKY and King Kohli started to stitch a partnership. And what they did together will be remembered for a long time. Both of them were absolutely sublime to watch as they played very calculated and class knocks complementing each other’s game well and Australia’s bowlers were suddenly out of answers.
Surya Kumar Yadav scored a brilliant 69 runs from 36 balls that included 5 fours and 5 sixes. Virat Kohli scored a match-winning 63 runs from 48 balls that included 3 fours and 4 sixes. Hardik Pandya provided the finishing touch with a cameo of 25 runs from 16 balls that included 2 fours and a six.
Team India won the game quite comfortably in the end even though the match reached the last over of the game. What was great for team India throughout the series was that somebody always held their hand up when the team needed it and delivered at a very crucial and pressing time.
Surya Kumar was the man of the match in the third and final T20I and Axar Patel was adjudged the man of the tournament for his all-round play and brilliant performance throughout the series. India will be playing South Africa for 3 T20I’s & 3 ODI’s before they leave for the World Cup.
Pakistan Grab Victory Right From The Jaws Of Defeat
In the ongoing T20 series between Pakistan and England, Pakistan pulled off a heist when they won the 4th T20I by 3 runs to level the 7-match series at 2-2. Chasing a target of 166 set by Pakistan, England were all but behind in the game after a flurry of wickets. Liam Dawson batted brilliantly to single-handedly almost win the game for England when he smashed Mohammad Hasnain for 24 runs in the 18th over. But what followed after that was mind-blowing.
After another Dawson boundary in the second ball of the 19th over, England needed just 5 runs from the last 10 balls with 3 wickets in hand with Dawson smashing the Pakistan bowlers all over the park. And that’s when it happened – Harris Rauf picked up two back-to-back wickets to make the contest even more exciting going into the last over with only one wicket left and 4 runs to win. Reece Topley wanted to nudge the ball for a single to get Adil Rashid on strike and that’s when Shan Masood hit the stumps directly to ensure a perfect end for a nail-biting contest that now sets up the 7-match T20 series nicely at 2-2.
