India vs Australia, 2nd T20I: Maxwell takes Australia to a 2-0 series win
Thanks to Maxwell’s unbeaten century, Australia defeated India by 7 wickets in the 2nd and final T20I played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Wednesday. KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni helped India to a competitive total, but Glenn Maxwell made sure that Australia won the match rather easily.
Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to bowl first. KL Rahul continued from where he left off and took on the Australian bowlers while Shikhar Dhawan struggled for his timing. At the end of 6 overs, India were 53 for 0. KL Rahul was dismissed for a well-made 47 off 26 balls. KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan added 61 runs in 7.1 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant went in quick succession. Then came the power hitting from the experienced duo of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni as they smashed the Australian bowlers to all parts of the ground.
Virat Kohli made the batting look easy and reached his fifty off just 29 balls. MS Dhoni also played some lovely shots and scored a quick-fire 40 off 23 balls. Both MS Dhoni and Virat added 100 runs for the 4th wicket. Virat Kohli remained not out on 72 off just 38 balls to help Team India post a competitive total of 190 for 4 in 20 overs.
Chasing the target of 191 runs to win, the Indian team got off to a good start as they dismissed Marcus Stoinis and Aaron Finch cheaply. Glenn Maxwell and D'ArcyShort steadied the innings with some brilliant stroke play. At the end of 6 overs, Australia were 42 for 2.
Glenn Maxwell then showed his class by smashing the Indian bowlers and reached his fifty off just 28 balls. Short gave good support to Maxwell at the other end. Vijay Shankar dismissed the dangerous Short for 40 runs. Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short added 73 runs for the 3rd wicket.
Glenn Maxwell continued his attacking stroke play and just took the game away from India. The hard-hitting Maxwell reached his century off just 50 balls. With 9 runs required off the final over, Glenn Maxwell finished off the match in style and remained not out on 113. Australia won the match by seven wickets with two balls to spare.
Brief scores: Australia 194 for 3 in 19.4 overs (Glenn Maxwell 113*, Darcy Short 40, Peter Handscomb 20*, Vijay Shankar 2/38) beat India 190 for 4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 72*, KL Rahul 47, MS Dhoni 40, Behendroff 1/17) by 7 wickets.