Sundar’s unbeaten 49* helped India chase down a thrilling target to level the series against Australia
Washington Sundar and Arshdeep Singh produced match-winning performances to defeat Australia by five wickets in the third T20I in Hobart. Sundar’s unbeaten 49 and a crucial innings from Jitesh Sharma (22*) helped India achieve Australia’s challenging target of 186 with nine balls to spare to level the series.
India made three changes to their team and won the toss and elected to field first. This decision paid off immediately as Arshdeep Singh, who replaced Harshit Rana, dismissed Travis Head in the very first over. The left-arm fast bowler then dismissed Josh Inglis again in his next over, leaving Australia struggling.
However, a strong counter-attack by Tim David (74 off 38 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (64 off 39 balls) brought the Australian innings back on track. David was particularly aggressive, reaching his half-century in 23 balls, and the pair forged a formidable partnership. Despite a brief stumble after Varun Chakravarthy took two wickets in consecutive balls, David and Stoinis continued their attack. Stoinis reached his half-century in just 32 balls, helping Australia post a competitive 186/6, while Jasprit Bumrah was economical, conceding only 26 runs in his four overs. Arshdeep was the best bowler with figures of 3-35.
In reply, India’s chase of 187 was impressive. Opener Abhishek Sharma provided a quick start, scoring 25 runs in 16 balls before being dismissed by Nathan Ellis. India maintained a good run rate during the powerplay. The team faltered in the middle overs with the dismissals of Suryakumar Yadav (24) and Axar Patel (17), while Ellis (3-36) proved to be Australia’s most effective bowler. At 152/5 after 15 overs, the game was tied, and India needed 35 runs from the last five overs.
This set the stage for Washington Sundar, who came on and immediately took charge of the chase. He made an immediate impact, hitting a six off Ellis and later a four and two sixes off Sean Abbott in the crucial 14th over. He found a crucial partner in Jitesh Sharma, one of India’s changes. Both displayed restraint in the final overs. Jitesh followed it up with a clever scoop off Ellis for a four, while Sundar smashed a towering six off Stoinis to take the score to 16 off 18 balls.
Jitesh survived a dropped catch and sealed the victory with a four off Abbott in the 19th over, completing the chase in 18.3 overs. Sundar remained unbeaten on 49, falling just one run short of his half-century, as India levelled the series.
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Source: Cricbuzz