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Ind vs Aus: Kohli and team look to complete white-wash in T20Is
In their final white-ball game of 2020, set to be played on Tuesday, Virat Kohli and his team would have the opportunity to white-wash hosts Australia in the shortest format.
New Delhi: In their final white-ball game of 2020, set to be played on Tuesday, Virat Kohli and his team would have the opportunity to white-wash hosts Australia in the shortest format.
The Men in Blue have won the first two T20Is of the ongoing three-match series, and now the side would look to remain unbeaten in the shortest format. With the T20 World Cup set to be played in India next year, the visitors will look to outclass the hosts in their own backyard.
Virat Kohli's side has ticked all the boxes in the ongoing series. While the first match was won after batting first, the second win came when Kohli and his boys opted to chase.
In the first match, India defended a below-par score of 161, while in the second, the side chased down a massive score of 195, owing to Hardik Pandya's heroics. Pandya has been one of the shining lights of this tour so far, as he has come into his own, and India may very well now have a finisher who can do the job more often than not.T Natarajan, who is playing an international series for the first time, has been a major spark as he has bowled in the right areas with both the old and new ball. No one doubted his ability at the death, but him showing ability with the new ball has taken everyone by surprise.
In the second T20I, all Indian bowlers leaked runs, but it was Natarajan who finished with the spell of 2-20, and this restricted Australia to under the 200-run mark. Man of the Match Hardik Pandya also admitted that he thought Natarajan would be awarded the 'Man of the Match'.
If one talks about Australia, the hosts are without the services of David Warner, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc. Aaron Finch had missed the second T20I, and it is not known whether the white-ball skipper will play the final T20I.
Marcus Stoinis made his comeback, but he did not bowl a single delivery and this costed Australia. The bowling attack of the hosts looks considerably weakened and the performance of Andrew Tye, Daniel Sams, and Sean Abbott has left a lot to be desired.
Australia T20I squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, D'Arcy Short, Adam Zampa.
India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan. (ANI)