India vs Australia, 2nd T20I, Who said what: Cricketing world reacts as Australia demolish India to level the series
The Australian cricket team levelled the three-match T20I series in style by decimating the Men in Blue in the 2nd T20I held in Guwahati.
Chasing a paltry score of 119, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah got India off to a perfect start by removing both David Warner and Aaron Finch.
However, Moises Henriques and Travis Head ensured no further hiccups as the Kangaroos cruised to an eight-wicket victory in the end.
Henriques was let off the hook in the fifth over when the Indian side refused to go up for a review despite a faint edge off Henriques' bat.
Earlier in the day, the Australian bowlers ripped through the Indian batting line-up. Jason Behrendorff removed the top four while Adam Zampa chipped in with two wickets as well.
Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav provided worthy contributions but were unable to stay till the end.
The two sides will battle it out in the final T20I in Hyderabad on Friday.
Here is how the players reacted to the match:
Travis Head:
I haven't been doing that (playing with a straight bat) throughout the tour and it's nice to come out and do that. I worked hard on that aspect in the last couple of days. We tried to put the pressure back on the bowlers by being positive. Jason bowled unbelievably well. The series is up for grabs now and we are looking forward to winning the series in Hyderabad.
Moises Henriques:
I think the bowlers bowled well. Chasing a small target, Travis came in and hit a couple of boundaries, which took off a lot of pressure. It was important to anchor the innings and make sure we didn't have a collapse. I think, to be honest, the wicket suited the seam bowlers little bit more tonight than the last game, where it kept low and the bowlers could bowl into the wicket. Today there wasn't as much spin. I was gonna bat three if we lost an early wicket in the first six. Last game, the openers did well, so I slid down a little bit.
Virat Kohli:
Not the performance we wished for. Australia were much better on the day. We were not good enough with the bat. After the dew set in, it was very difficult to control the game. The effort is to do that as a team, but we speak about when the situations are not in our favour is when we have to put 120% on the field. It is the attitude that matters the most. As a batsman you have two skills, one with the bat and the other on the field. (Talking about Behrendorff) Indeed, I thought the ball to Rohit was very good. His line and length was very tight. Then they build onto that. Credit to him for hitting the right areas. He definitely had a top class day today.
David Warner:
It feels great. As I said, bowl well and start well. Jason has got the height and bounce, he comes from Perth and has the right attitude, which is key. Zampa was fantastic as well. Sending Henriques early was something I spoke out. He's been effective with Sunrisers as well, and he came and showed his experience. In the beginning, the pitch was softish, quite like an English wicket. But if you got through the new ball, you could score. Hopefully the crowd gets behind us in Hyderabad.
Jason Behrendorff:
It's not too often I get in front of the cameras, so I need to work on that (chuckles). Nice to get one over (in the last game) but the experience was good nonetheless. I have been working hard to play for Australia and am loving every minute of it. The whole Indian team is a class team and feels nice to take a few wickets and get ourselves to a great start. Can't wait to do it again at Hyderabad.
Here is how the cricketing fraternity reacted to the match: