Team India defeated Australia in the 3rd T20I match in Hyderabad, to seal the 3-T20I match series by 2-1. After bouncing back in the 2nd T20I match, which was delayed by two hours due to wet outfield and was curtailed down to 8 overs per side, the Rohit Sharma-led side put up a stellar show in the 3rd T20I match with some terrific batting performances from Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.
Here are India’s 3 positive takeaways from the series win against Australia:
Axar Patel continues his rise
In the last 2-3 years, Axar Patel has only been seen as the back-up of Ravindra Jadeja. This year, Patel has made a strong case of his inclusion in the white-ball elevens irrespective of Jadeja’s whereabouts. Patel, who had registered figures of 3/17 in the first T20I, continued to impress, returning with 2/13 in 2 overs in a game where runs were scored at more than 11 an over.
Axar is clearly a big upgrade as a bowler over Jadeja. Now, it is his batting which will decide whether he gets the place at number 6/7 in India’s line-up at the T20 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma said: “Axar can bowl in any stage, gives me an advantage of using the other bowlers in different situations too – maybe use the pacers in the middle overs if he bowls in the powerplay. I would like to see his batting as well.”
Dinesh Karthik seals his spot in the XI as finisher
If there were any doubts – in minds of the management and fans alike – Dinesh Karthik has put those to bed with just two balls.
Karthik’s role – of a finisher – and his delayed entry point – near the death overs – had come under question when in the first T20I Axar was promoted to have DK come in near the 16th over. However, the 37-year-old once again proved why the management is backing him in the finishing role, one where he’s one of the best in the world.
With 9 runs needed off 6 balls, Karthik smashed Daniel Sams for a six and four to seal the game with immense calmness. Whether Pant is in the XI or not, DK has also sealed his spot as the finisher for the T20 World Cup.
About Karthik, Rohit said: “Glad DK could finish well. Been a while since he had some time in the middle. There was this thought if we should get Rishabh in but I thought Sams is going to bowl off-cutters, so I thought let DK come in and he is playing that role anyway for us.”
Virat Kohli’s successful return
India had desperately been needing the return of Virat Kohli for quite a long time now. However, ever since his return during the Asia Cup 2022, Virat Kohli has managed to silence all his critics with his back-to-back amazing performances. In the last match, the 33-year-old looked solid as he scored 63 off 48 balls with three fours and four sixes. In the Asia Cup, he hit his 71st century after a gap of nearly 3 years. With the T20 World Cup less than a month away, it is a good news for India as the ‘chasemaster’ is back in his elements.
