Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad displayed their talent with impressive fifties, leading India to a 44-run win over Australia in the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. This win puts India in a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Opener Jaiswal starred with 53 off 25 balls, supporting India to a strong 235 for four along with Ishan (52 off 32 balls) and Gaikwad (58 off 43 balls).
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (3/32) then put pressure on the Australian top-order with two quick wickets, restricting the visitors to 191 for nine despite aggressive knocks by Tim David (37 off 22 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (45 off 25 balls).
Pacer Prasidh Krishna took three wickets, contributing to Australia’s downfall as they lost five wickets for 16 runs.
Australia needed to score at 11.8 runs per over to reach India’s total. Openers Matthew Short and Steve Smith made a strong start, gathering 31 runs in the first two overs.
But Bishnoi dismissed Short in the third over and Josh Inglis in the fifth over, causing Australia to slip to 39 for two.
It soon became 58 for four after Smith fell to Prasidh and left-arm spinner Axar Patel removed Glenn Maxwell, as the Indian bowlers showed discipline.
However, Australia fought back through David and Stoinis, who added 81 runs for the fifth wicket in just above seven overs.
Both David and Stoinis demonstrated their ability to score quickly.
David hit pacer Mukesh Kumar for 19 runs in the 10th over as Australia reached 104 for 4 in the first 10 overs, looking poised for a comeback.
But Bishnoi took the crucial wicket of David, who was caught by Gaikwad at long-on.
Stoinis also didn’t last long as his attempt to hit Mukesh ended with Axar near the straight boundary.
From that point, an Indian victory was certain.
But credit goes to the three young talented batters – Jaiswal, Kishan and Gaikwad – for India’s success.
Australian captain Matthew Wade’s decision to bowl first in view of the dew factor didn’t pay off as his bowlers struggled against the Indian batsmen.
The pitch was a bit slow but the Aussie bowlers were inconsistent, giving room to the Indian batsmen.
They took advantage, especially Jaiswal, who took on Sean Abbot in a remarkable manner.
In the fourth over, Jaiswal punished Abbot with a sequence of 4, 4, 4, 6, 6 for 24 runs, through two square cuts, a late cut and two pulls, as India scored 71 runs in the Power Play segment.
Jaiswal reached his fifty in 24 balls but couldn’t continue as he played a wild shot off pacer Nathan Ellis, caught by Adam Zampa at backward square leg.
But that didn’t affect India’s innings as Gaikwad and Kishan added 87 runs for the second wicket.
After Jaiswal’s dismissal, the right-hand-left-hand combination kept the pace up. India reached 101 for 1 after 10 overs.
India maintained a run rate of around 11.5 runs per over in the middle phase of the innings despite spinners Zampa and Tanveer Sangha bowling better spells.
Kishan reached his half-century in 29 balls with a huge pulled six off leg-spinner Sangha over mid-wicket.
Gaikwad, who lofted the ball over Zampa’s head, also reached his fifty off 39 balls with a double off pacer Ellis.
Gaikwad’s solid innings allowed others to attack the Australian bowlers.
Kishan, however, couldn’t continue his innings as he lost balance while trying to hit Stoinis, hoicking a simple catch to Ellis in the deep.
However, Rinku Singh contributed with a quick innings (31 off 9 balls) and ensured that India finished strongly.
Rinku scored 25 runs off the 19th over bowled by Abbot, who leaked 56 runs off three overs in total.
The final over bowled by Ellis went for 20 runs as India reached a total that Australia couldn’t chase.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
