Rohit Sharma’s blistering innings with the bat and Axar Patel’s crucial spell with the ball made India win the second T20I against Australia. In a rain-affected 8-over game, India chased the target of 91 runs in 7.2 overs. With this win, the final T20I in Hyderabad is going to be a series decider.
While batting first, Australia got a double blow in the second over as opener Cameron Green got run out and Glenn Maxwell got out for a golden duck. In the fourth over, Axar Patel (2/13) got rid of Tim David. Jasprit Bumrah got rid of dangerous-looking Aaron Finch in the fifth over. Later, Mathew Wade (43* off 20 balls) and Steve Smith anchored the innings. Wade continued his superlative form from the last match and went berserk in the last over. As a result, Australia scored 90/5 in 8 overs.
India got a stunning start during the chase as Rohit (46* off 20 balls) and KL Rahul scored 20 runs in the first over. Aussies got their first breakthrough in the third over when Adam Zampa (3/16) got Rahul’s wicket. In his very next over, Zampa scalped Kohli and Surya Kumar Yadav’s wickets as well. Even when they are losing wickets, Indians tried to keep the required rate around 10. In the last over, India needed 9 runs to win. Dinesh Karthik (10* off 2 balls) finished things off by smashing 10 runs in the first two balls. Thus, India won the game by scoring 90/5 in 7.2 overs.