Team India won their 10th consecutive T20I series at home, on Sunday (September 25), by defeating Australia by 6 wickets in the third and final T20I of the series in Hyderabad.
Australia's captain, Aaron Finch, remarked after the game that playing such a tight series against a "world-class" team like India will benefit his team ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 in October.
After being put in to bat first, Aussie opener Cameron Green got the visitors off to a flying start by going after the Indian bowlers from the first over.
Green eventually was dismissed after scoring a brutal 52 in just 21 balls, surpassing the previous record for the fastest fifty scored against India in T20 cricket (Johnson Charles of the West Indies achieved the same feat in 20 balls).
“It was a really good series. We held our nerves well in the middle overs. The series Green had was big as well. We thought it was a decent total, it got a bit dewy, and we knew we had to get wickets. [On Green] He is a super young player; he has shown his class. He has not played a lot of T20. He has taken it superbly.” said Finch in the post-match presentation.
A late onslaught by newbie Tim David, who smashed 54 off just 27 balls, took his team’s total to a competitive total of 186/7.
In reply, the hosts lost their openers for 30 runs, but a third-wicket 104-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav was pivotal in taking over the line. Yadav put on a dominant show with the bat, hitting 69 runs off just 36 balls.
Kohli after taking the back seat while Yadav was going full throttle at the other, switched gears once the latter was dismissed. Kohli got out in the last over after a well-made 63 off 48 balls. Eventually, the team chased down the target with a ball to spare.
“You can’t rely on containing India. At times we were a bit sloppy in our execution. At times we were sloppy with bat and ball, but playing a tight series like this against a World Class side is going to keep the guys in good stead,” Finch concluded.
Rohit Sharma and his men will now face South Africa in a 3-match T20I series starting September 28 in Thiruvananthapuram.
(STAR SPORTS INPUTS)
