Australia vs. India: Winners and Losers from 2nd T20I
After their disappointing performances in the one-day international series, India bounced back dramatically in the Twenty20 format with their comprehensive 27-run victory over Australia at Melbourne, clinching the series in the process.
The win was built on contrasting innings from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli before the tourists’ slow bowlers turned the screw on their hosts, with only Aaron Finch putting up any resistance.
With the dust still settling at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, let's take a look at the three individual winners and the three individual losers from this clash.
Winner: Virat Kohli
1 of 6
Performance: 59 runs from 33 balls
While Rohit Sharma provided the backbeat for India’s innings, Virat Kohli provided the explosive guitar solo with a blistering 29-ball half century.
The Test skipper’s knock included eight boundaries—one of which cleared the ropes—and alongside Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he turned the openers’ solid foundations into a significant total.
Kohli has had a sensational tour Down Under so far, registering two tons and five half-centuries from just nine innings.
Loser: Nathan Lyon
2 of 6
Performance: One over for 15 runs and zero wickets
If you blinked, you may have missed Nathan Lyon’s T20 international debut, with the off-spinner contributing just one over.
His solitary stint cost 15 runs in total and lasted approximately three minutes, most of which were spent fetching the enormous six dispatched by Rohit Sharma over long on from a free hit.
True, the surfaces at the T20 World Cup in India should be more receptive to spin than the unforgiving hard tracks Down Under, but Lyon would clearly have hoped to make more of an impact.
Winner: Aaron Finch
3 of 6
Performance: 74 runs from 48 balls
A decent opening partnership is crucial when chasing down a large total, and Aaron Finch smashed 65 of the 94 runs that he and Shaun Marsh put on for the first wicket.
However, the 29-year-old will be kicking himself for his needless run out in the 16th over that effectively signalled the end of Australia’s hopes.
On the plus side, in just his sixth game in charge of the T20 side, the 29-year-old seems unaffected by the pressures of captaincy with his see-ball, hit-ball approach still very much in evidence.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Loser: Chris Lynn
4 of 6
Performance: Two runs from four balls
With Australia’s T20 World Cup squad due to be announced in the next few weeks, Chris Lynn desperately needed an eye-catching innings.
Unfortunately, the big-hitting 25-year-old lasted just five minutes at the crease and has now made just 19 runs from his two innings in this series.
Despite lighting up the Big Bash, with the likes of David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith looking to get back into the side, a trip to India may pass Lynn by.
Winner: Yuvraj Singh
5 of 6
Performance: One wicket for seven runs from two overs
While Yuvraj Singh is primarily known for his batting, his small-but-crucial role with the ball here gave the selectors a timely reminder of his more-than-useful second string.
The 34-year-old delivered two miserly overs that, in the context of a high-scoring contest that saw 341 runs registered at a rate of 8.5 per over, were crucial.
Perhaps more importantly, though, Singh also collected the wicket of Glenn Maxwell, enticing the danger man down the track before sliding a fast, wide delivery past him and allowing MS Dhoni to make the stumping.
Loser: John Hastings
6 of 6
Performance: Zero wickets for 35 runs from three overs
Big John Hastings was very impressive for Australia in the recent ODI series, taking 10 wickets in his four appearances.
However, with the T20 World Cup on the horizon, this was a strangely innocuous performance from the 30-year-old.
Of the 18 balls Hastings delivered, seven of them went to the boundary, leading to a sky-high run rate of 11.66. He also failed to pick up a single wicket.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
