India falter against Hazlewood & Co; Australia take series lead

Abhishek Sharma stood tall on an MCG pitch offering plenty of bounce but he couldn't prevent Australia from taking a 1-0 lead in the T20I series against India following a comfortable win in the second match. India folded for 125 in 18.4 overs, with Abhishek scoring 68 off just 37 while the rest of the batting lineup faltered against Josh Hazlewood (3 for 13) & Co. Mitchell Marsh's 26-ball 46 led Australia's charge in the chase as the hosts cruised home in 13.2 overs with four wickets in hand, handing India their second biggest loss in T20Is in terms of balls to spare.

Asked to bat first, India endured a top-order collapse, losing four wickets inside the powerplay - only the 10th instance in 256 matches. Hazlewood, was the wrecker in chief as he produced a venomous spell, bowling Test match lengths on a pitch offering steep bounce. Abhishek, as is often the case, began briskly but found himself starved of the strike while wickets tumbled at the other end. He got going with a four and a six off Xavier Bartlett in the opening over, but Shubman Gill struggled against Hazlewood and eventually fell trying to go over mid-off. Promoted to No.3, Sanju Samson's stay was brief as Nathan Ellis trapped him in front. Although Abhishek continued to find boundaries, India's innings kept unravelling. Josh Inglis, who had put down Suryakumar Yadav, made amends by holding on to two catches in Hazlewood's over - dismissing the Indian skipper and Tilak Varma in quick succession - as the visitors ended a chaotic powerplay at 40 for 4 with Hazlewood bowling out.

After a cautious rebuild, Axar Patel was run out for a 12-ball 7 while attempting a third run, leaving India tottering at 69 for 5 at the halfway mark. Abhishek, meanwhile, had faced just 19 deliveries but raced to 46. Harshit Rana, promoted up the order, provided much-needed support, finding the fence a few times as Abhishek brought up his 23-ball fifty - his slowest in terms of overs faced, arriving as late as the 13th. The duo added a fifty partnership to push India past 100 in the 15th over.

But the short ball continued to haunt India. Bartlett removed Rana (35 off 33) with a slower bouncer and then dismissed Shivam Dube with one that seamed and climbed sharply, the batter edging behind. India slipped to 109 for 7 after 16 overs, with Abhishek having faced only 27 balls. He faced just one more delivery in the next over, which saw Kuldeep Yadav fall to another short one - this time off Marcus Stoinis. Abhishek, though, was in a different zone. He took on Bartlett in the 18th over, scoring a four and a six, followed by two couples, and retained the strike for the 19th. But his fine innings came to an end when Ellis outsmarted him - bowling two wide of the arc before nailing one full and straight to trap him in front. Varun Chakaravarthy's run-out soon after wrapped up India's innings with eight balls left unused.

Australia had a quiet start to the chase before Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh struck a boundary each in the third over off Jasprit Bumrah, who also bowled five wides. Head and Marsh then struck a six apiece off Rana in the fourth over, which yielded 20 runs. Australia raced past 50 inside five overs before Head became the first to depart, caught at long-off in Chakaravarthy's over. Bumrah bowled a quiet sixth over as Australia ended the powerplay at 56 for 1.

Marsh, who had a relatively sedate start, with 15 off 15 in the first six overs, hit his second six when he lofted one straight into the sightscreen off Chakaravarthy. Kuldeep's first over saw Marsh go into overdrive, striking two sixes and two fours before getting out attempting another big hit as he fell four short of a fifty. Tim David and India were involved in some mind games in the ninth over - Tilak was placed at short-leg, David backed away once, and Chakaravarthy then ran in to bowl but didn't complete his action. Eventually, David was out caught and bowled in the same over. A reverse-swept boundary for Inglis off Kuldeep came in the 10th over as Australia crossed 100, with Harshit putting down the catch of Mitchell Owen in the same over.

India burnt a review when Chakaravarthy and Samson convinced Suryakumar to go upstairs after the bowler had struck Owen on the back thigh. But they got the next one right as Kuldeep got the wicket of Inglis, lbw for 20, although Owen hit a monstrous six over deep midwicket to take Australia closer. With Australia two away from the target, Bumrah had Owen caught behind and Matthew Short bowled in the 13th over. Stoinis finished it off with a couple off Kuldeep as Australia wrapped up the game in the 14th over.

Brief scores: India 125 in 18.4 overs (Abhishek Sharma 68, Harshit Rana 35; Josh Hazlewood 3-13, Nathan Ellis 2-21) lost to Australia 126/6 in 13.2 overs (Mitchell Marsh 46, Travis Head 28; Varun Chakaravarthy 2-23, Jasprit Bumrah 2-26) by 4 wickets.