India bounced back strongly from the Melbourne defeat as they outplayed Australia by 5 wickets to level the series 1-1. India’s bowlers led by Arshdeep Singh bowled decently before an all-round batting display took India home with 9 balls to spare. Electing to bowl first, Arshdeep Singh picked up 3 wickets and Varun Chakaravarthy picked up 2 wickets while Tim David made 74 and Marcus Stoinis made 64 to power Australia to 186/6 in 20 overs.
In the chase, it was an all-round batting display by India with everyone getting in and getting some starts with Washington Sundar’s unbeaten 49 off 23 balls guiding the chase home with 9 balls to spare even as Nathan Ellis got 3 wickets to his name. The series is level at 1-1 with 2 games to spare.
Sparking knocks from Tim David & Marcus Stoinis powers Australia to 186/6.Â
Put into bat first, Travis Head came out to open the batting with captain Mitchell Marsh for Australia. Arshdeep Singh had ball in hand for India. Head made his intentions clear as he went deep inside the crease and helped it on its way to the deep fine leg fence. Arshdeep hit back getting rid of Head for 6 off 4 balls with a boundary to his name. Arshdeep bowled good length delivery shaping away outside the off-stump. Head looked to smash it over covers and played away from the body and committed a shot a tad early. She got it off the cue end of the bat as the ball went to Surya at mid-off. Josh Inglis came out to bat next.
Jasprit Bumrah came onto the attack from the other end as Marsh welcomed him with a boundary by flicking it towards deep square leg. Arshdeep continued and removed Inglis for 1 off 7 balls. He bowled a length delivery swinging in down the leg side. His eyes lit up and bent low to play the pick up shot and whipped it high in the air behind square on the leg side but failed to get enough connection on it and the ball sailed straight to Axar at deep backward square leg.
Tim David came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary with the drive through extra cover and mid-off. Bumrah continued as David muscled it over covers for a boundary. Varun Chakaravarthy came into the attack inside the powerplay. David welcomed him and slapped it through the gap between point and cover for a boundary. David was not done yet as he smashed Varun down the ground over long-off for the maximum. Bumrah continued to bowl the last over of the powerplay.
Tim David got a reprieve as Washington Sundar dropped the catch at backward point and he was batting on 20 at that stage. David then added insult to the injury as he stayed leg side and smashed it over covers for a boundary. At the end of the powerplay, Australia were 43/2 in 6 overs. Axar Patel came into the attack next after the powerplay. David smashed it and hit over extra cover for the maximum as the 100 sixes came up for Tim David. David then smashed Axar again for the maximum for a huge 129m hit over the fence.
Shivam Dube came into the attack next. David welcomed him by slapping it over deep backward point for a boundary. David now looked unstoppable as David went deep inside the crease and cut away powerfully in front of square for a boundary. David hit another boundary by cutting hard to the deep point fence as David reached his fifty in 23 balls as the partnership passed 50 runs in no time.
Varun returned to the attack and he got rid of Mitchell Marsh for 10 off 14 balls with a boundary to his name. Varun bowled fuller and around the fourth stump line. Marsh swung hard and aimed to tonk it over long-off and miscued it to Tilak who took the catch. Mitchell Owen came out to bat next and got dismissed for a golden duck. Varun bowled fuller than good length googly that turned into the off and middle stump line sharply. Owen failed to read the googly and played the wrong line. He went for the cut but the ball sneaked past the inside edge of the blade to rattle the stumps. Marcus Stoinis came out to bat next and got off the mark off the hat-trick ball.
Axar continued as Stoinis changed his stance and reverse swept it to deep fine leg for a boundary. Australia reached 84/4 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the innings. Varun continued as David danced down the track and threw the kitchen sink at it to slice it powerfully over extra cover for the maximum. David was in murderous mood as David went on the front foot and powered it downtown for the maximum clearing long-off.
Axar continued as David lofted the ball over covers for a boundary as the 100 came up for Australia in 12 overs. Dube came back into the attack as Stoinis launched him by clobbering a pull shot to midwicket for the maximum. Stoinis went again as he hit the full toss over deep backward square leg for the maximum. Dube then got rid of David for 74 off 38 balls with 8 fours and 5 sixes to his name against the run of play.
Dube bowled full on the off-stump, David cleared his front leg and looked to smash it downtown. The bat turned in his hands on impact as he sliced it off the toe end to the left of long-off where Tilak rushed across and kept his eyes on the ball and took a fine catch above his head with a leap and managed balance to take the ball well. Matthew Short came out to bat next.
Axar continued as Stoinis reverse swept it between keeper and short third man for a boundary. Varun came to bowl his final over as Stoinis pounced on it through the gap between deep point and backward point for a boundary. Varun ended his decent spell. Australia were 130/5 in 15 overs. Abhishek Sharma was given the ball into the attack. Short launched Abhishek over midwicket for the maximum. Short then got down on one knee and smoked it over the bowler’s head for a boundary.
Dube continued as Stoinis slapped it in front of square on the off-side for a boundary. The 150 came up for Australia in 16.4 overs. Short then swiped Dube away to the midwicket region for a boundary. Arshdeep Singh came back into the attack and nearly had a wicket with Rinku almost pulling off a stunner, but he couldn’t hold on as the ball brushed the ground. Stoinis punished Arshdeep by slicing it away behind square on the off-side for a boundary. Stoinis then reached out and opened the face of the bat of the bat past diving backward point for a boundary as he reached his fifty in 32 balls. Stoinis was in no mood to relent as he used the depth of the crease and ramped it over the keeper and short third man for a boundary.
Bumrah came back into the attack and bowled a good decent over. Arshdeep had to bowl the last over. Stoinis went deep in the crease and cleared his front leg and reached for it to power it away to deep cover point for a boundary. Arshdeep then removed Stoinis for 64 off 39 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes to her name. Arshdeep bowled a low full toss on the fourth stump line. Stoinis was deep in the crease and failed to get underneath it and swung hard to long-on where Rinku took a sitter. Xavier Bartlett came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway.
In the end, Australia ended with 186/6 in 20 overs with Short unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name while Xavier Bartlett finished with unbeaten 3 runs off 2 balls. 2 extras given by the Indians. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for India with 3/34 in 4 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy finished with 2/33 in 4 overs while Shivam Dube finished with 1/43 in 3 overs. Jasprit Bumrah finished with 0/26 in 4 overs. Axar Patel gave 35 runs in 4 overs. Abhishek Sharma’s only over went for 13 runs. This meant India needed 187 runs to win off 20 overs to level the series 1-1.
All-round batting performance led by Washington Sundar leads India to a series-levelling win.Â
Chasing 187 for the win, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill came out to open for India while Xavier Bartlett had ball in hand for Australia. Bartlett started with a no ball but the free hit yielded nothing. Abhishek soon got off the mark with the maximum by slapping it over point for the maximum. Sean Abbott had ball in hand from the other end. Abhishek took the attack to Abbott by slashing hard over backward point and then stepped onto the front foot and to heave it over wide long-on for the maximum.
Sharma was not done yet as he drilled Abbott down the ground beating mid-off for a boundary. Bartlett continued and bowled a quiet over. Nathan Ellis came into the attack next. He got the first breakthrough for Australia removing Abhishek for 25 off 16 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name. He bowled a well-directed short ball on the off-stump line. Abhishek stood tall on the back foot but is hurried by the pace as he looked to play an ugly looking pull and lost his shape completely and got a top edge behind the wicket as Inglis ran forward and gobbled it.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav came in and got off the mark straightaway. SKY then shuffled across the line and used the pace of the ball to play the pick up shot and whipped it over backward square leg for the maximum. Abbott continued as Surya picked up the length and pulled it over square leg for the second six of the night for her. Abbott overstepped as well. The free hit yielded a single only.
Ellis continued as Gill dispatched him by whipping it over midwicket for a boundary. Ellis then hit back and got rid of Gill for 15 off 12 balls with a boundary to her name. Nathan bowled a Yorker on the leg stump. Gill was late to react to it and looked to flick it across the line and failed to get his bat down in time and got hit very low on his front pad. The umpire gave it OUT. Gill reviewed in hope and burnt the review for India. Tilak Varma came out to bat next and got off the mark. At the end of the powerplay, India were 64/2 in 6 overs.
Matthew Kuhnemann came into the attack next as spin was introduced into the attack. SKY hit the last ball of his first over for a boundary by opening the bat face and sliced it over backward point for a boundary. Marcus Stoinis came into the attack as well as Tilak got across and down on his knee as he held his pose and nailed the lofted off-drive over mid-off for a boundary. Stoinis then removed SKY for 24 off 11 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes to her name.
Stoinis bowled a pace-off delivery into the pitch shorter in length outside the off-stump as Surya played off the back foot and looked to punch it on the up. The ball held in the surface as he was a tad early to the stroke and chipped it straight to Ellis at short extra cover. Axar Patel came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Matthew Short came into the attack next. Tilak launched him by getting down on one knee and went over square leg for the maximum.
Bartlett came back into the attack as Axar welcomed him with a flick to deep backward square leg for a boundary. The 100 came up for India in 9.2 overs. At the halfway stage of the chase, India were 105/3 and well placed in the 187 chase. Kuhnemann returned to the attack. He bowled a tight over. Ellis returned and once again got Australia the wicket as he removed Axar for 17 off 12 balls with a boundary to his name.
Nathan from over the wicket bowled a quick bouncer on the middle and off-stump and it was a well directed short ball aimed at the helmet of Axar who hung back and was hurried by it. He looked to pull it away and was in no position to play it and took his eyes off the ball as he got a top edge that lobbed to short midwicket where Bartlett charged in and took a good catch diving forward. Washington Sundar came out to bat next and got off the mark with a maximum off Ellis by pulling it to the left of deep midwicket for the maximum.
Kuhnemann continued as Sundar slapped him flat batted over the umpire’s head for a boundary. Sean Abbott came back into the attack next. Sundar took him on by hopping back and lifted it over extra cover for a boundary. Then he took on Abbott by picking the length early and dispatched it over midwicket for the maximum. Sundar went big again by clobbering the pull shot over forward square leg for the maximum.
Bartlett then returned and removed Tilak Varma for 29 off 26 balls with a boundary and maximum to his name. Bartlett bowled a good length delivery outside the off-stump line. Varma shuffled across and got down on one knee to play the scoop over fine leg as he mistimed it and played much finer than he thought. It looped behind the stumps and was a simple grab for Inglis who took the catch. Jitesh Sharma came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary as he got across his off-stump and drove it through covers and extra covers for a boundary.
The 150 came up for India in 14.4 overs as India were 152/5 in 15 overs. Ellis came to bowl his final over as Jitesh shuffled across well outside the off-stump and got down on one knee and got inside the line of the ball to scoop it over the keeper’s head for a boundary. Ellis finished his spell as well. Kuhnemann continued as Sundar smashed him by hitting the high full toss over deep backward square leg for the maximum. Kuhnemann ended his spell as well.
Jitesh was next dropped by Mitchell Owen at mid-off as he back pedalled as Stoinis was denied a wicket. Sundar then smashed Stoinis over the umpire’s head for a boundary. India milked Stoinis for the rest of the over to inch closer to the win. The winning runs came off the bat of Jitesh Sharma as he strode forward and effortlessly lofted it over extra cover inside out for the maximum to finish the game in style. Sundar remained unbeaten on 49 off 23 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes to her name while Jitesh remained unbeaten on 22 off 13 balls with 3 fours to her name. 7 extras given by Australia.
Nathan Ellis was the pick of the bowlers for Australia with figures of 3/36 in 4 overs. Xavier Bartlett finished with 1/30 in 4 overs. Marcus Stoinis finished with 1/22 in 2 overs. Sean Abbott went for 56 in 3.3 overs. Matthew Kuhnemann finished with 0/31 in 4 overs. Matthew Short’s only over went for 13 runs. So, India win by 5 wickets with 9 balls to spare to level the series 1-1. Arshdeep Singh was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
After the washout in the first game, the series is nicely set up with both teams winning one and losing one. India have levelled things up at Hobart and now the bandwagon will move to Gold Coast a few days later on Thursday 6th November 2025 for the crucial 4th game of the series. It’s all to play for with 2 games left in the series. Let’s see which team takes the bragging rights in the next game.
Also Read:Â AUS vs IND: Tim David & Marcus Stoinis Powers Australia To 186/6