Cricket: India level T20 series against Australia with five-wicket victory in Hobart
Singh, Sundar lead India to crucial victory at Ninja Stadium
After a disappointing ODI series, which they lost 2-1, India are under pressure to bounce back in the T20 leg of their tour to Australia, and they responded well following defeat at the MCG by winning game three in Hobart and confirming our cricket predictions.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bowl first, which was a decision that paid off as Arshdeep Singh picked up the key wickets of Travis Head and Josh Ingis in back-to-back overs to leave the home team on 14/2 by the third over.
Tim David and Marcus Stoinis played big roles for Australia, scoring 74 off 38 deliveries and 64 off 39 balls, respectively, while a quick-fire 26* (15) from Matt Short at the death got the Baggy Greens to a defendable 186/6 in their 20 overs.
India got off to a brisk start in their run chase, with Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill going at 10 runs per over before the former was dismissed for 25 (16). Notably, no Indian batter recorded a half-century.
Washington Sundar came the closest to that milestone with 49* off 23 deliveries, but what helped India get to the target was their strike rate, as all seven batters that came to the crease in the innings scored at better than a run a ball.
Nathan Ellis was the pick of the bowlers for the home side, notching up 3/36 in his four overs, but it was not enough to deny Yadav and co victory, as they chased down the target by five wickets and with nine balls to spare.
Kuldeep Yadav released from India T20 squad in Australia
Following the victory in Hobart, news broke that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had decided to release Kuldeep Yadav from the squad ahead of the final two matches of the series on November 6 and 8.
It was then revealed that the board have included the left-arm spinner in the India A squad that will take on South Africa A at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru this week. The official statement from the BCCI read:
“The Indian team management has requested to release Kuldeep Yadav from the ongoing T20I series in Australia to allow him to participate in the India A series against South Africa A. The decision has been taken to provide Kuldeep with red-ball game time in preparation for the upcoming IDFC First Bank two-match Test series against South Africa”
Yadav had only featured once in the three ODIs against Australia and was omitted from the team for the T20I in Hobart, with Washington Sundar taking his place. India’s first Test against the Proteas gets underway on November 14 in Kolkata.
