India beat Australia 44 runs in the second T20I on Sunday to lead the five-match series 2-0. Australia were reduced to 191 for nine in 20 overs after chasing 236. Australia lost their top-four for 58 runs when Ravi Bishnoi (3/32) struck twice in the powerplay. Glenn Maxwell (12) fell cheaply. Marcus Stoinis then led the pursuit with a quick knock. But Mukesh Kumar (1/43) ended his innings for 45 to give the breakthrough. Also returning with three wickets was Prasidh Krishna (3/41). India scored an impressive 235/4 batting.
India beat Australia 44 runs in the second T20I
India started well with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad scoring 77 runs in 5.5 overs. After Jaiswal’s 25-ball 53, Ishan Kishan (52) and Gaikwad (58) shared 87 runs for the second wicket. Rinku Singh came on and scored 31 undefeated off nine balls. India won the first T20I at Vizag by two wickets. Marcus Stoinis grabbed one wicket and Nathan Ellis three for Australia. In their 8-wicket triumph in Vizag on Friday, skipper Suryakumar Yadav led from the front and Rinku Singh remained temperamental to give this second-string Indian side their maiden series win.
The Indian team is missing all-rounder and skipper Hardik Pandya, who has an ankle injury from the league stage of the World Cup, and veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have been out since the 2022 T20 World Cup. Although skipper Pat Cummins and veteran opener David Warner are absent, the Aussies are playing with the same World Cup-winning side. The Mathew Wade-led Kangaroos missed out on winning the first T20, but they took plenty of positives from the last match, including 208 runs in 20 overs with Josh Inglis and Steve Smith leading the innings. They would feel their bowling needed to create more chances to beat this Indian side.
