India vs Australia: Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel proved Virat Kohli’s decision to bowl first by dismissing Aaron Finch and Chris Lynn cheaply at Melbourne Cricket Stadium on Friday afternoon. Khaleel, who proved expensive in the last game, also get rid of D’Arcy Short and sent the Australian top-order back in the hut. India is going into the game with an unchanged XI while Billy Stanlake has been replaced by Nathan Coulter Nile by Australia. Even though the hosts started the series with a win in Brisbane, the journey ahead won’t be easy for them. Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team has won its last seven T20 bilateral series while the Aussies have had a tough time since the ball-tampering saga in March.
Rahul had an outstanding Indian Premier League this year but his form at the international stage has been of major concern. The Kings XI Punjab batsman has failed to pass the 30-run mark in the six games since his unbeaten century in Manchester against England.
FOLLOW | India vs Australia LIVE Streaming Online 2nd T20
Aaron Finch, on the other hand, would be happy with his team’s performance as the experienced Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis came to the side’s rescue while Chris Lynn too showed signs of returning to form. D’Arcy Short struggled at the top but has had a good year with the bat and would like to contribute more in the next two games.
Here are the playing XIs for India vs Australia 2nd T20 –
Australia: D Arcy Short, Aaron Finch(c), Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey(w), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff.
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed.
Disappointing! The match has been called-off. Australia lead the series 1-0.
The revised target for India is 90 runs from 9 overs. The Indian openers were set to walk out at the part but right then, IT STARTED RAINING AGAIN! This is so frustrating for everyone associated with the game.
The players go back, the umpires go back and the wait continues.
The rain has stopped and the umpires are out in the middle along with Aaron Finch and a few members of the Indian support staff. The revised target is yet to declared.
Bad news people! It has started to rain again in Brisbane and this time it is getting heavier. The covers are back on, umbrellas are out and the players are going back to their dressing rooms. It should take a while before the match starts now.
Bad news people! It has started to rain again in Brisbane and this time it is getting heavier. The covers are back on, umbrellas are out and the players are going back to their dressing rooms. It should take a while before the match starts now.
It's official! The match has been reduced to 19 overs and the target for the Indian cricket team is 137 runs. It isn't a big total and India should get down easily -
The players are out in the middle. Aaron Finch can be seen catching the ball. So, Australia is unlikely to bat again and we may have a 19-over game on our hands. The target will be revised as per D/L method for India.
Just like in the first T20I, rain has stopped play in the second T2OI as well. After the end of 19 overs Australia are 132/7. India have bowled tight line and length to make Aussie batsmen struggle. For India Kumar and Ahmed took two wickets each, while Bumrah, Yadav and Pandya took 1 wicket each.
The current partnership between Ben McDermott and Andrew Tye is 31 runs. While McDermott is batting is 32 runs, Tye is on 12 runs. Till now India is having upper hand upper hand in the match. However, they will still need to bat sensibly to win the match.
Australia: 127/7
Ben McDermott: 28* (28 balls)
Andrew Tye: 11* (9 balls)
Current run rate is 6.77
Australia lose seventh wicket as Nathan Coulter-Nile goes for 20 runs. He is caught by substitute fielder MK Pandey off the bowling of Kumar. Australi in the spot of bother now with 101/7 on board in 16.3 overs. The new man in is Andrew Tye.
Australia lose another wicket as Carey goes for 4 runs. Australia at the spot of bother with 84/6 in 14.1 overs. The new man in is Nathan Coulter-Nile. Hosts now need a good partnership from here on to stay in the match.
A much-needed wicket for Pandya and it is a big one - he gets rid of Glenn Maxwell for 19. It was good belivery, pitched on the middle-stump and turned just enough to beat Maxwell. Big blow for Australia.
Maxwell is someone often associated with big-hitting. In the last game too, he had smashed 46 runs from just 23 balls. But, here he has started slow and has reached 11 from 16 balls.
Australia would be happy that he is playing according to the situation but they would to see his real self if they want to pose a strong total.
Both the spinners - Krunal Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav have started well here. They have collectively given away just 11 runs from their two years. This match is of greater significance for Pandya who had a disastrous outstanding in the last match.
So, Virat Kohli goes for the spin and it's Kuldeep Yadav who has the ball. The Kolkata Knight Riders spinner was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the last game and would look to continue his good form.
Ben McDermott is the new batsman.
Australia - 41/4 (7 Overs)
Ben McDermott - 0 (0)
Glenn Maxwell - 5 (8)
Another wicket for India. This time Jasprit Bumrah strikes and gets rid of the big Australian all-rounder. He departs for just 4. The ball was short and wide, begging to be hit but Stoinis found Dinesh Karthik at deep extra cover with perfection.
Australia in serious trouble.
What a comeback by the young man! He was taken for a plenty in the last game and this is how he responds. Gets one through D'Arcy Short and sends the southpaw back to the hut. The top three are gone and India is on top of the opposition.
Marcus Stoinis is the new batsman in.
Glenn Maxwell is the new man in for Australia. Everyone knows what the Australian all-rounder is capable of. He changed the game in Brisbane with his big-hitting but, can he do that again?
Australia - 27/2 (4 Overs)
Glenn Maxwell - 0 (0)
D Arcy Short - 10 (10)
Big wicket for India. Smart cricket from Khaleel Ahmed, rolled his arms over it and tempted Lynn for a big one. He ended up giving it elevation and Krunal Pandya took a brilliant catch. Lynn departs for 13.
These mistakes can come back to haunt India! Rishabh Pant dropped an easy catch before Bumrah dropped one on the boundary. And, it was the big one - of Chris Lynn. Bhuvneshwar Kumar would be kicking himself. He should have had three wickets now.
The score reads 19/1 after 3 overs.
Bhuvi bowled an excellent first over. There is some help for the pacers from this wicket. He moved the ball both ways and troubled both the batsmen.
Khaleel started from the other end.
What a start for India! Aaron Finch is out on the first ball he faced. It was just outside off-stump and pitched up, Finch followed the ball and ended up edging it. Rishabh Pant takes an easy catch and India is off to a dream start.
The Australian skipper departs for duck.
The Australian openers are out in the middle. D Arcy Short and Finch will open the batting. They would look to provide a steady start.
As always, Bhuvneshwar Kumar takes the new ball for India.
This is yet another chance for KL Rahul who is certainly a star for the future but is struggling to cement his place in the side. Consistency is the issue with the Kings XI Punjab batsman who had an outstanding IPL this year.
He hasn't crossed the 30-run mark in the last six games but the management is showing a lot of faith.
The Australian skipper said that he would have bowled first as well but hopes to put some runs on the board. "I would have bowled first as well, like the other day. Hopefully put some runs on the board and then pick up some early wickets. One change. Billy Stanlake has hurt his ankle and Nathan Coulter-Nile replaces him," he said at the toss.
The Indian skipper said that his side batted well in the first game and should do better in this one. "We're gonna have a bowl first. The wicket has been under covers for a while. We did well in the last game. If managed to bat better, we should be better. We're playing the same team," he said.
D Arcy Short, Aaron Finch(c), Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey(w), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff.
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant(w), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed.
The Indian skipper has won the toss and has elected to bowl first. No changes for India.
The BCCI has tweeted an image from the MCG and it seems that we may have a delayed start. The covers are off though and we are unlikely to lose overs -
Jasprit Bumrah is three wickets away from becoming the second Indian bowler to reach the milestone of 50 T20I wickets after R Ashwin (52).
There was rain in Melbourne earlier in the day but the sky is clear now. The covers have been taken off and the match should start at the scheduled time. But, overcast conditions are expected and the game could be affected by rain in the later half.
Team India had arrived in Melbourne on Thursday for the second T20 against Australia. Here are the visuals -
Team India vice-captain Rohit Sharma has been in impressive form in this season so far. He led the Indian side well against West Indies and is now, just 58 runs away from becoming the leading run-scorer in T20Is. The record is currently held by New Zealand's Martin Guptill who has scored 2271 runs in the shortest format.
After the loss in the first game, Shikhar Dhawan said that missed chances in the field cost the Indian side. He said that it was a very close match and both the teams played really well. "Of course missed chances in the field had their own impacts. The dropped catch and missed run out opportunity but that is part and parcel of the game and we took it in our stride. We conceded a few extra runs (in the middle overs) but otherwise , we played well," said Dhawan after the loss.
The southpaw is now the leading run-scorer in T20Is in a calendar year. He has scored 646 runs so far this year. Here is the complete list -
646 S DHAWAN (2018)
641 V Kohli (2016)
576 Fakhar Zaman (2018)
567 Rohit Sharma (2018)
563 Babar Azam (2018)
520 M Shahzad (2016)
503 A Finch (2018)
500 C Munro (2018)
Welcome to our coverage of the second T20I between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne. The Indian cricket team went into the first game with just one specialist spinner in Kuldeep Yadav hoping that Krunall Pandya will come good. As it turned out, the Mumbai Indians all-rounder gave away 55 runs from his 4 overs and this may force the management to select Yuzvendra Chahal in place of Khaleel Ahmed.
Australia's win in the first game has left the series nicely balanced with Indian team more than capable to make a comeback. The hosts are likely to stick with the same playing XI.