Table of Contents
India Levels T20I Series with Australia:
India levelled the series by securing victory in the third match of the India-Australia T20 series.
Previously, the first match of the series was canceled due to rain. Australia emerged victorious in the second match of the series. In this third match, India triumphed by 5 wickets. Washington Sundar and Arshdeep Singh were given the opportunity to play for the Indian team, and their contributions were pivotal to India’s success in this match.
While there were numerous positive aspects in India’s performance during this match, there were also some areas of concern. I will address these points later; however, let us first provide a brief overview of the match.
Australia’s Innings:
India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Australia managed to score 186 runs, losing six wickets in their 20 overs. Tim David, Marcus Stoinis played commendably in this match. Matthew Short played well towards the conclusion of the innings.
Tim David achieved a score of 74 runs from 38 balls, while Marcus Stoinis contributed 64 runs from 39 balls, and Matthew Short remained unbeaten with 26 runs off 15 balls.
Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy were the standout bowlers for India. Arshdeep Singh claimed three wickets, and Varun Chakaravarthy secured two. In his first over, Arshdeep Singh dismissed Travis Head, followed by Josh Inglis in his second over. In the final over of the innings, he also took the wicket of Marcus Stoinis. It is unacceptable that a bowler like Arshdeep Singh, who has over 100 wickets in international T20Is, is not afforded regular opportunities in the Indian team.
Furthermore, Arshdeep Singh was awarded the Player of the Match in this game. Will the team management persist in disregarding him even after this performance?
India’s Innings:
In pursuit of a target of 187 runs, India triumphed by scoring 188 runs in 18.3 overs, losing 5 wickets in the process. The Indian opening pair, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, began well, although Shubman Gill was dismissed for a modest score of 15 runs. Abhishek Sharma managed to score 25 runs.
The Indian captain, Suryakumar Yadav, has been struggling with form; in this match, he started positively but failed to convert it into a significant score, finishing with 24 runs.
The standout batsman for India in this match was Washington Sundar, who played exceptionally well and effectively eliminated Australia from contention. Washington Sundar scored an impressive 49 not out from 23 balls. Tilak Varma also made a crucial contribution with 29 runs. Finally, Jitesh Sharma added 22 not out from 13 balls.
Among the Australian bowlers, Nathan Ellis was the most effective, taking three wickets.
Some positives aspects and negatives aspects about this Indian team:
Now, let us proceed to discuss the positives and negatives of the Indian team in this match.
First, we will address the positive aspects.
Some positive aspects:
The first positive aspect is: Appropriate player selection:
Arshdeep Singh was given an opportunity in this match, which was undoubtedly the correct choice. This is because Arshdeep Singh is a bowler who possesses the ability to take wickets. He managed to secure three wickets in this match as well. Additionally, the selection of Washington Sundar proved beneficial. He delivered an impressive innings, scoring 49 runs.
The second positive aspect is: Contribution from every batsman:
Each batsman who had the opportunity to bat in this match made a contribution to the team’s success by scoring runs. For instance, Abhishek Sharma scored 25 runs, Shubman Gill contributed 15 runs, Suryakumar Yadav added 24 runs, Tilak Varma scored 29 runs, Axar Patel made 17 runs, Washington Sundar remained not out with 49 runs, and Jitesh Sharma also remained not out with 22 runs.
The third positive aspect is: Limiting Australia to 200 runs:
Limiting Australia to 200 runs on the batting-friendly pitch of Bellerive Oval in Hobart was a significant accomplishment for the Indian bowlers. Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakraborty took three and two wickets, respectively. Although Jasprit Bumrah did not take a wicket, he conceded only 26 runs in four overs.
Now, let us discuss the negative aspects.
Some negative aspects:
The first negative aspect is: Indian captain and vice captain failed again:
Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill have not been performing well in T20 cricket lately. While Shubman Gill excels in Test matches, he has not replicated that success in white-ball formats. Both players began well today, yet they could not accumulate significant runs. This ongoing lack of performance from the captain and vice-captain is detrimental to the team’s success.
The second negative aspect is: The Indian team dropped catches in this match too:
During the sixth over of the Australian innings, Washington Sundar failed to catch Tim David’s shot at backward point off Jasprit Bumrah. At that moment, Tim David had only scored 1 run. Ultimately, he went on to score 74 runs in this match. Additionally, in the 18th over, Rinku Singh attempted to catch a ball by diving forward, but unfortunately, the ball hit the ground before he could secure it.
The third negative aspect is: Hardik Pandya’s replacement is not available in this team:
Currently, Hardik Pandya is absent from the Indian team due to an injury. The absence of an all-rounder of his calibre is being keenly felt. When Hardik Pandya is in the line-up, Shivam Dube typically does not need to bowl in most matches; however, in this match, he took one wicket but conceded 43 runs in three overs. Interestingly, while bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar did not bowl a single over in this match, batting all-rounder Shivam Dube bowled three overs.
Upcoming matches of the series:
Nevertheless, both positive and negative aspects can be identified in every match. Ultimately, the primary objective is to secure a victory. The Indian team demonstrated this in the third match of the series.
The fourth match is scheduled for November 6, 2025, and the fifth match will take place on November 8, 2025. We shall see if the Indian team can clinch the series by winning those two matches!
I have uploaded a video on YouTube related to the topic discussed in this blog, and you can find the link to that video here: