In the third T20 international match on the Gold Coast, India battered Australia with a terrific 48-run pounding. This win helps India to gain a lead by 2-1 in the series! The game was a reminder of India’s formidable bowling arsenal. Australia continued to falter with the bat, unable to capitalise on a great start.
After winning the toss, India opted to bat first. They managed to wrangle up 167 runs while losing eight wickets along the way. Shubman Gill went on to be the best player for India, managing just 46 runs from the face of 39 balls. His innings was important, especially on a difficult wicket, to set Australia a competitive total to chase down.
In reply, Australia made a bright start, sailing to 67 runs before the loss of a single wicket. But then came a spectacular route as they lost their last nine wickets for a mere 52 runs. Patel and Chakravarthy, the Indian spin duo, rolled Australia’s run chase to an unbelievable stop with their match-winning bowling efforts. Their blistering partnership made even scoring a run per ball seem impossible.
Australia’s captain, Mitch Marsh, expressed disappointment with the team’s performance following the match. He accepted that the failure was alarming, and he expressed deep concern over the offensive woes his squad has endured.
“I thought walking off the ground that 167 was par on that wicket,” – Mitch Marsh
Australia brought four new players into their XI for this game. Perhaps most importantly, Glenn Maxwell was back in the mix after a wrist injury had forced the hard-hitting all-rounder out of action since mid-September. He got his medical clearance to play and helped lead his team to a state championship. His involvement wasn’t sufficient to stop the team’s collapse.
The match saw several pivotal moments. Washington Sundar’s dramatic double-wicket maiden to start the chase saw him clean up crucial middle-order batsmen, including Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Short. Jasprit Bumrah was quick to make his mark, rattling Ben Dwarshuis’ stumps to all but shatter Australia’s aggressive batting core.
Marsh admitted that India were excellent, especially how much trouble they caused the top-order with the ball.
“Fair play to India. They are a world-class team.” – Mitch Marsh
Axar Patel was clear about the need to bowl straight and tight in the conditions that day.
“In these conditions bowling wicket to wicket was the most important thing,” – Axar Patel
Even Australian cricketing legend Mark Waugh could sum up the state of Australia in one word—”Worrying.”
The heavy defeat has raised serious questions about Australia’s batting depth and has pointed to other serious areas to improve on before their next match. The series is squarely in India’s favor now. In order to overcome the deficiencies seen in Game 1, Australia needs to return to winning form and put their batting inconsistencies behind them.
