● India won the five-match T20I series by 2-1
● India maintained their unbeaten series streak in T20Is in Australia.
● Abhishek Sharma was adjudged the Player of the Tournament
The Indian T20 team carried on their dream run in T20Is as they seized the five-match T20I series by 2-1 after the last T20I at Brisbane got washed out. India once again lost the toss, marking their 22nd loss in the last 23 matches and were put in to bat by Australian captain Mitchell Marsh.
Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma gave India a rollicking start, putting 52 runs on board in just 4.5 overs until players were taken inside due to a thunderstorm threat. Unfortunately, things got worse when it was followed by torrential rains, which eventually led to the match being called off.
However, the blitz start provided by the Indian openers must have put a smile on the faces of Indians, especially the pristine hitting by Shubman Gill, who hit 4 boundaries in an over of Xavier Bartlett.
By the time the game was interrupted, Shubman was batting on 29 runs off 16 balls, whereas Abhishek, who was looking a bit patchy at the start and was put down by Australia twice, also gained some momentum and was not out at 23 off 13 deliveries.
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Shubman-Abhishek duo an almost certainty for the World Cup?
There has been a furore all over social media over the inclusion of Shubman Gill ever since he was picked as opener ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in the Asia Cup squad. On top of that, his inconsistent performances in the Asia Cup and failure in the ODI series only fueled his out-of-the-way selection call.
However, his performance in the T20I series marred by rain must have given the selectors and the team management some sigh of relief. Gill has scored 132 runs in the series at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 136.
He was among the best-performing batters in the series on tricky wickets. Given the belief of the selectors and the management in Gill's abilities and the proximity of the T20 World Cup, it is almost certain that he would open the innings at the World Cup with Abhishek Sharma.
Future of Sanju Samson in T20Is?
While Gill was rested (as said by the selectors) from the T20I side, Sanju Samson was looking after the opening duties along with Abhishek Sharma and was doing it very well. Samson has scored 552 runs from 17 innings at an average of 32.62 and an astonishing strike rate of 178.
Despite such healthy statistics, Samson was pushed in the middle order after Gill’s inclusion, and after some failures, he’s now been replaced by Jitesh Sharma in the playing XI, who’s more suited for that position.
With Gill now starting to perform at the top order and Jitesh looking more suited for the middle order, huge doubts are now being cast over Sanju Samson’s place in the T20 World Cup squad, let alone the playing XI.
Spin to win- India’s moto for the upcoming World Cup
While Bumrah looked a bit out of color in the T20I series and Arshdeep was benched for most part, the spin trio of Axar, Varun and Washington played an integral role in India’s series win. While Varun was the pick of the bowlers for India, with no Aussie batter able to pick him, Axar and Washington also chipped in with important wickets at crucial junctures.
With the spinners in-form and Hardik inclusion in the future, India’s bowling is looking almost settled with six bowling options while having batting till No.8.
However, it could mean the exclusion of the enigmatic Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI in a settled T20I bowling up of India which could be a hard pill to swallow for most Indian fans given the pedigree of the chinaman.
