Team effort helped India to a series-levelling five-wicket victory in Sunday’s game in Hobart. On Thursday in Carrara, Gold Coast, a win will give the side an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the series.
The opening T20I in Canberra was a no-result due
to rain.
In the bowling department, India don’t really have too many reasons to worry about, especially with the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy being steady with their performances. It’s the batting that appears to be of a little bit of concern for the Suryakumar Yadav-led group.
Batters getting starts and not being able to convert them have troubled India on this series, while the team management will only be too happy if Shubman Gill manages to come up with a significant contribution.
For Gill, this limited-overs tour of Australia has been underwhelming by his own standards. Against a rather depleted bowling attack, even in the ODIs, Gill didn’t quite seem to be in the flow, which is one of his strengths. Even in the ongoing T20Is, barring the 37 not out in the opener in Canberra where he stitched an attacking second-wicket partnership with captain Surya, the vice-captain hasn’t really looked comfortable.
India return to the red-ball format next week with the two-Test series against South Africa, beginning at Eden Gardens. That’s Gill’s strongest format at present, and a
good 50-odd or even a 40-plus score at a strike rate of
more than 150 should make the Test captain feel much better as he moves on to the
next assignment.
India cannot ask for anything better too if Abhishek Sharma continues with his dominant strike-rate in the Powerplay, but it’s time for skipper Surya to produce an innings characteristic of him. Surya, too, is getting dismissed even after strong starts, something that should push him to stretch a little extra and play a game-changing knock.
Washington Sundar’s performance in Hobart was a big positive for India. If he remains consistent, Sundar will surely stand a fair chance of finding his name in the squad for next year’s T20 World Cup. Keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, too, had done a decent job in the previous game.
However, it also remains to be seen if the management changes the playing XI. Will all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who appears to have recovered from the left quadriceps injury, return… that cannot be ruled out.
For Australia, Glenn Maxwell has a chance to play, though they will miss Travis Head, who has returned to the Sheffield Shield to prepare for the upcoming Ashes.