Australia v India 2nd T20I – 5 Talking Points
A 27 run win over the mighty Aussies in the 2nd T20I at the MCG saw MS Dhoni’s men clinch the T20 series. The win witnesses MS Dhoni pick up his first series win in over a year. Rohit Sharma (60) and Shikhar Dhawan (42) laid the perfect foundation for the Indian innings. Following the dismissal of Dhawan, Virat Kohli continued the fine work as the Indian top order once more put the team in a winning position. A cameo from skipper MS Dhoni saw the Indians finish on a score of 184/3.
Chasing the mammoth total, Aaron Finch once more put the Indian pace bowling attack to the sword. The dismissal of Shaun Marsh in the 9th over triggered a collapse of sorts. Spinners Ashwin and Jadeja came up with the goods when called upon by the skipper eventually restricting the Aussies to 157/8 thus securing the win.
1. Shikhar Dhawan re-finds golden touch
Left-hand opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who was out of form in the ODI series seemed to have finally found the meat of the bat. After taking an over or two to settle in, Dhawan went berserk as he smashed Hastings and Tye all over the MCG. Dhawan raced to his 32 ball 42 with his knock consisting of 3 boundaries and two sixes. The resurgence of such an important part of the Indian side find form will definitely boost the morale of the Indian side before they face Sri Lanka at home.
2. Virat Kohli The Run Machine
Virat Kohli continued on his merry way as he smashed a well compiled 33 ball 59 including 7 fours and 1 six. The test skipper has been perhaps one of the most integral members in the Indian squad and the Indians will most certainly be hoping that he continues his form into the home series in Sri Lanka and eventually the World Cup that is scheduled to begin on the 8th of March.
3. Yuvraj Singh not given an opportunity to bat
A lot of speculation regarding old Yuvraj Singh’s role in the side had engulfed the media upon his inclusion in the side. In spite of picking up a wicket and bowling 2 overs, the 34-year-old veteran was not sent out to bat. Yuvraj hasn’t featured with the bat thus far this series and is highly expected to feature with the bat as on Sunday as the Aussies play for their pride. It will also be noted that Yuvraj requires just 32 runs to complete 1000 T20I runs and Yuvi will be eager to get the monkey off his back.
4. Aaron Finch decimates Indian bowling attack
Similar to the first T20I at Adelaide, Aaron put the Indian bowling attack to the sword. He smashed Jasprit Bumrah and veteran Ashish Nehra en route to his 48 ball 74. His captain’s innings included 8 boundaries and 2 sixes. However, Finch wasn’t able to consolidate as he continued to run out of partners at the other end and eventually succumbed to a hamstring injury.
5. Spin once again has a major influence on proceedings
As was in the previous fixture, yet again spin played a major role in proceedings. Dhoni introduced spin twins Ashwin and Jadeja as early as the 8th over in the innings. In spite of not having the best of successes initially, the spinners including Yuvraj Singh succeeded in stemming the free flow of runs and picking up crucial wickets at regular intervals. The spinners succeeded in triggering a mid-innings collapse as the Aussies folded up for 157/8 in their 20 overs.
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