The spinners did the job: MS Dhoni

It was a stupendous show by MS Dhoni and his team as they defeated Australia by 27 runs in the 2nd T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. This is the third series win for India in Australia and Dhoni registered a proud record of being the first Indian skipper to claim 2 series wins in Australia.

India posted a challenging target of 185 for the Aussies to chase. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Dhawan and Virat Kohli were the architects of India’s total. In reply, Australia had a magnificent start as Finch single-handedly plundered the Indian bowlers. But the spinners (Jadeja, Ashwin and Yuvraj) yet again brought the turnaround with quick wickets in the middle overs. MS Dhoni was brilliant behind the stumps and affected two remarkable stumpings. The Australian middle order flunked and the team eventually folded for just 157/8, losing the match by 27 runs.

The India skipper looked happy and complimented the whole team for their great effort, especially spinners and Jasprit Bumrah. Dhoni said, “It’s fun (playing in front of a big crowd). Thanks for all the support. That was a fantastic catch (Jadeja’s stunning grab that got rid of Watson). That was a crucial point of the game. They got off to a good start and it was important for us to take wickets. The spinners did the job and Hardik’s first over was very crucial. We have been looking for someone who can give us good death overs and Bumrah has done well so far. He can consistently bowl yorkers. The good thing is that the more he plays, the better he will get.”

Aaron Finch hurt his hamstrings while taking a risky single and was unavailable for the presentation ceremony; Shane Watson took the mic on behalf of him and spoke in an optimistic manner.  Watson said, “We got a really good start, but, unfortunately, we lost wickets in the middle and made it hard for ourselves. Aaron hurt his right hamstring. He’s being assessed right now, hopefully it is not too serious. He has been hitting the ball really well. Sunday is very important for us. We are testing out a few players at the moment. The conditions are very different out there for the World T20 in India.”

Virat Kohli replicated his last match’s performance and smacked 59 runs off 33 balls. He was adjudged as the man of the match. Speaking at the presentation, Kohli said,  “I love coming to Australia and bat on these wickets. We get a lot of Indian support as well. Sealing the series here at the MCG feels special. I am very happy that I contributed to the team at an important time. Rohit has been timing the ball well. Shikhar took a bit of time in the ODI series, but he has been batting well as well. I rely on timing to hit sixes than going really hard at it.”