Australia vs India T20I series 2018-19: By failing to hit a single six in the 3rd T20I, Australia create unwanted record
The Indian team is currently in Australia for a full-fledged tour comprising 3 T20Is, 4 Tests and 3ODIs. The tour, which began with the T20Is, saw the first of the three-match series played at Brisbane which the hosts won by 4 runs (D/L method).
The second T20I at the MCG was very much in India's hands, but once again rain played spoil-sport as the match was called off.
The third game played at Sydney turned out to be a crucial contest, with India aiming to level the series while the hosts looked for a series win. After opting to bat first on winning the toss, the Aaron Finch-led side posted 164/6 in 20 overs.
Openers D' Arcy Short (33 off 29) and Finch (28 off 23) provided the hosts with an electrifying start, putting up 68 runs on the board for the first wicket in 8.3 overs.
With Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott and Chris Lynn failing with the bat, the Aussies failing to maintain their momentum and started slowing down. But Alex Carey and Marcus Stoinis stabilized their innings with sensible knocks of 27 off 19 balls and 25* off 15 balls respectively, helping them set India a target of 165 to chase down in 20 overs.
All-rounder Krunal Pandya was the main tormentor with the ball, finishing with 4/36 in four overs. Left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav was very economical, registering figures of 1/19 in his four-over quota.
In reply, India got off to a resounding start scoring 67 runs for the first wicket in just 5.3 overs - courtesy Shikhar Dhawan (41 off 22) and Rohit Sharma (23 off 16).
After they both fell, it was all about skipper Virat Kohli who brought up his 19th T20I half-century (61* off 41 balls), thereby becoming the first ever visiting skipper to score a T20I fifty in Australia. After KL Rahul (14 0ff 20) and Rishabh Pant (0 off 1) failed to get going, Dinesh Karthik joined Kohli and guided India home(168-4 in 19.4 overs).
At the end of it all, India had managed to level the three-match T20I series 1-1.
However, there was an interesting aspect to the last match as Australia created an unwanted T20 record in it. During their innings of 164-4 in 20 overs, the Aussies failed to score even a single six against a tight Indian bowling, which was quite bizarre.
Though the Indian pacers went for runs, they did not concede a single maximum, and the spinners Krunal and Kuldeep were exceptional.
For a team comprising big-hitters like Finch, Maxwell and Lynn, this is a very surprising T20I record to fall against Australia's name. Their score of 164-4 is now the highest T20I total without a six!