With the Australia-India One Day series done and dusted, the focus of the tour now shifts towards the 20-overs format as Australia and India square off for a three-game T20I series, that gets underway on December 4 at the Manuka Oval.
The stakes are high for the T20I series as Australia and India aim to produce spectacular results as part of their preparations for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Additionally, Virat Kohli’s men also seek to consolidate their lead in the head-to-head record with the Aussies, with India winning 11 of their 20 meetings.
Having said that, here are five memorable performances from the past Australia-India T20I series.
2007 T20 World Cup semi-final: Yuvraj Singh’s 30-ball 70
With India struggling at 41 for two after eight overs, Yuvraj Singh lifted the Men in Blue back into the contest with a 30-ball 70 during the 2007 T20 World Cup semi-final. Laced with five boundaries and five sixes, the left-hander stitched an 84-run partnership with Robin Uthappa and set the tone for India to post a match-winning score of 188. The fixture has gone down in history as of the most dramatic T20I games between the teams.
2010 T20 World Cup Group Stage: David Warner’s 42-ball 72
Although a relatively new name in the circuit back then, David Warner continued his bright start to his T20I career as he hit a 42-ball 72 to startle the spirits of a high-flying India in the 2010 T20 World Cup. The southpaw smashed seven sixes in his ambitious innings that turned out to be a nightmare for the likes of Zaheer Khan and Ravindra Jadeja.
2016 Australia-India 1st T20I: Jasprit Bumrah’s 3/23 on debut
A young Jasprit Bumrah, who was brought on board as an injury-replacement of Mohammad Shami, impressed one and all with a three-wicket haul in the opening fixture of the T20I series. The most economical bowler among the pacers in the game, Bumrah’s maiden victim was David Warner and going forward the youngster finished as the leading wicket-taker in the series with six wickets.
2016 T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli’s 51-ball 82*
Amongst his greatest performances as a “chase master”, Indian cricket fans will fondly remember Virat Kohli’s unbeaten knock against Australia in the final group stage game (Super 10 Group 2), which propelled the hosts into the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup. Kohli hit as many as nine boundaries in his emphatic run as he singlehandedly ended Australia’s campaign.
2019 India-Australia 2nd T20I: Glenn Maxwell’s 55-ball 113
Glenn Maxwell was the star of Australia’s maiden T20I series success on Indian soil, as he followed up his half-century in the first game with a blistering unbeaten knock of 113 off 55 deliveries. Playing with a monstrous strike rate of 205.45, Maxwell hit nine sixes and seven boundaries to not only get the Man-of-the-Match performance, but also walked home with a Man-of-the-Series award in the bag.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Money Sharma
