India Vs Australia Highlights, 2nd T20I: Travis Head And Mitchell Marsh Power AUS To Easy Chase Despite Late Hiccups

Good afternoon, cricket fans! Suryakumar and Co. will return to Melbourne for the second T20I match against Australia, hoping to get a winning start after their first match was abandoned due to rain. Stay tuned for toss updates and lineups as they are released.

• Fixture: India vs Australia 2nd T20I

• Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

• Date: Friday, October 31, 2025

• Time: 1:45 PM IST (7:15 PM local time)

• Live Streaming: JioHotstar

• Live Telecast: Star Sports Network

India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy (games 4-5), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott (games 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman (games 3-5), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (games 4-5), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (games 1-2), Glenn Maxwell (games 3-5), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana.

Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Mitch Owen, Josh Philippe, Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.

Australian captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl first. Read our detailed IND vs AUS 2nd T20I toss update.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.

After a minute's silence in the memory of Ben Austin, both teams are out on the pitch. Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill are India's opening pair, and Josh Hazlewood has the new ball for Australia.

What a terrific opening ball from Hazlewood. It's an inswinger that beats Shubman Gill's defence and hits him on the pads. The umpire's finger goes up, and the Aussies erupt in joy.

However, Gill hesitatingly reviews it. It looked plumb in real time, but ball tracker shows that it was around six inches over the stumps. The opener survives!

Abhishek Sharma, take a bow! After a tight opening over from Hazlewood, conceding just one, Abhishek gets on strike and goes to town against Bartlett. A full-toss is dispatched to the boundary ropes, and then the left-hander follows it up with a massive six over cover.

Hazlewood finally gets the break that his terrific bowling has deserved. Gill tries to hit the fullish delivery over the park, but the timing and connection are completely off. An easy catch for skipper Marsh. Sanju Samson is the new batter.

India's early innings wobble continues. After two 'almost got him' moments for Ellis, third time becomes the charm as the ball beats his inside edge and hits the top of the pads.

The umpire gives it OUT, but Samson immediately reviews. This time, though, it goes the Aussie's way, as ball tracker shows it hitting the middle stump.

This is the Hazlewood show at MCG tonight. Perfect line and length from the pacer. Suryakumar tries to open up the blade of his bat quite let, and gets the slightest bit of an inside edge that is an easy grab for Inglis, who dropped SKY in the previous delivery.

What is going on here?! Tilak goes for a two-ball duck, and India are in deep, deep trouble. The left-hander tried to flick it but only gets a top edge, and Inglis makes no mistake this time. Axar Patel is the new batter.

Despite wicket tumbling down the other end, Abhishek has continued to live dangerously. A wider delivery from Ellis is dispatched over cover point for a boundary. He gets a bit of luck against Hazlewood, with an outside edge flying past the grasp of Inglish and to the ropes.

Absolute calamity in running between the crease, and Axar has to go back. After running for two, Axar makes a dash for a third but is sent back by Abhishek. The former slips while returning, and, despite putting in a dive, is almost a metre out of the crease as Inglis breaks the bails. Harshit Rana is the new batter.

With India's innings half-way done, it has been a one-man show all around. Owen, who hasn't been particularly wayward with his bowling, sees his over's first and last ball being blasted towards the ropes for four. If Abhishek manages to bat on until the 15th over at least, India can target a 150-adjacent total.

Abhishek's stellar innings continues, and the batter seals his 23-ball half-century with a quick sungle of Kuhnemann. While India's run rate is just over run-a-ball, he is hitting with a strike rate of 217 – absolutely incredible!

Oh, heartbreak for Harshit Rana. Bartlett pulls out a clever slower one into the pitch, Harshit, eyeing that short straight boundary, but doesn’t quite connect. Tim David waits safely in the deep and makes no mistake. Harshit walks back for a gritty 35 off 33, not the finish he wanted, but he did the hard yards, hung in when it mattered, and gave Abhishek Sharma the backing India needed. A brave knock ends just when it was starting to get dangerous.

Sharp one from Bartlett. After being driven for four the previous ball, he adjusts brilliantly, pitches it on middle, gets that extra bounce and a hint of seam movement. Shivam Dube, looking to punch it away, only manages a faint edge through to Josh Inglis behind the stumps. Easy catch, big wicket! Dube’s short stay ends at 4 off 2, and Bartlett has his revenge straight away.

Oh, that’s sharp fielding from the substitute Abbott. Stoinis bangs it in short, Kuldeep Yadav goes for the pull but gets it all wrong, off the toe-end and looping awkwardly toward short mid-wicket. Abbott, alert and agile, dives forward full stretch and takes a terrific low catch just inches above the turf! Kuldeep walks back for a six-ball duck, and India lose another one.

Oh, that’s the end of a brilliant knock from Abhishek Sharma. Nathan Ellis outsmarts him completely, after teasing him with a couple of wide yorkers, he fires one straight and full. Abhishek shuffles across, looking to scoop or flick it fine, but misses it altogether and gets struck plumb in front! No doubts there, dead straight. A fantastic 68 off 37 comes to an end, and the crowd rises to applaud a top-class innings.

A complete mix-up and Bumrah has to walk back. Ellis delivers a slower one, which Bumrah just taps near the pitch and takes off for a single that was never on. Varun Chakaravarthy stays put, rightly so, but by then Bumrah’s already halfway down. Ellis reacts sharply, rushes forward, and flicks the ball onto the stumps with ease.

India’s innings never really took off apart from Abhishek Sharma’s sparkling 68 off 37 and Harshit Rana’s fighting 35 off 33. The rest managed just 22 off 50 balls as Australia’s bowlers dictated terms. Josh Hazlewood was ruthless up front, hitting Test-match lengths and conceding barely anything, 15 dot balls in four overs. India’s batting shuffle didn’t help either; Sanju at No. 3 and Harshit promoted ahead of Dube failed to steady things. Bartlett’s double strike crushed any hopes of revival, and the tail folded quickly, a forgettable batting show as India were bundled out for 125.

The players are set! Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head stride out with purpose. Bumrah takes the new ball for India, expect pace, swing, and intent right from ball one!

Australian openers Travis Head and skipper Mitchell Marsh have given the team a strong start. After a quiet first couple of overs, Head took on Bumrah, smashing two fours. The Aussies also got a bonus five runs when a wide delivery raced away to the boundary.

Brilliant composure from Tilak Varma at long-off! Head tried to take on Varun Chakaravarthy, lofting it straight down the ground, but Tilak judged it perfectly, caught it near the ropes, lobbed it up, stepped out, and came back in to complete a clean catch. Smart fielding and a big wicket! Head falls for 28 off 15.

Kuldeep Yadav finally gets the breakthrough! Smart bowling, tossed it up wide and full outside off, tempting Marsh into the big shot. Marsh went for the loft but couldn’t get the timing right, slicing it straight to Abhishek Sharma at long-off, who made no mistake. A much-needed wicket for India, though Marsh’s blistering 46 off 26 has already done the damage.

Soft dismissal! Tim David pushes at a fuller one from Varun Chakaravarthy, but with hard hands, the ball pops straight back to the bowler. Varun reacts quickly and grabs an easy return catch. A simple wicket and another smart moment for the spinner! Tim David goes for just 1 off 2.

Kuldeep Yadav strikes after a smart review. The umpire initially said not out, but replays showed it pitched in line and was crashing into leg stump. Inglis went back trying to punch a skiddy length ball, missed completely, and was struck plumb in front. Three reds on the screen, decision overturned! Inglis walks back for 20 off 20.

Classic Bumrah brilliance! He outsmarts Mitchell Owen with a clever slower off-cutter outside off. Owen leaned back, trying to drive through the covers, but only managed a faint edge. Samson was sharp behind the stumps, appealing confidently, and though the umpire wasn’t sure at first, the review showed a clear spike on UltraEdge.

Absolute peach from Bumrah! A lightning-fast inswinging yorker that tails in late and sneaks under Matthew Short’s bat, the kind of delivery no batter can survive. The stumps are shattered, and Bumrah wears that trademark grin as India celebrate. Short departs for a golden duck

Clinical performance from Australia. The tone for the chase was set in the powerplay as Travis Head and skipper Mitchell Marsh tore into India’s attack. Marsh, in particular, was ruthless, launching brutal sixes off Harshit and Kuldeep to stamp his authority.

Though Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep managed to pull things back with a couple of wickets, the chase was never really in doubt. Australia wrapped it up comfortably with over six overs to spare. Earlier, Hazlewood’s brilliant spell had laid the foundation, and from there, India were always playing catch-up.

The Australian have taken a 1-0 lead after the first match was called off due to rain. India will look to make a comeback in the 3rd T20I on November 2.

Thank you for joining us. See you in the 3rd T20I.