"Left his honeymoon and delivered for India, a selfless player" - Fans react as Mukesh Kumar’s 3/32 helps India beat Australia by 6 runs in 5th T20I
Lady luck finally shone on Mukesh Kumar as he starred with the ball when India beat Australia by six runs in the fifth T20I at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 3. The speedster first dismissed Josh Phillipe before dismissing Tim David and Ben Dwarshuis.
Notably, Mukesh gave five runs and scalped two back-to-back wickets in the 17th over to bring India back into the game. He then gave away just seven runs in the penultimate over.
Mukesh, who missed the third T20I for his wedding, finished with four wickets in as many T20Is, as India won the five-game home series 4-1 against the Aussies.
The 30-year-old bowled some brilliant death overs throughout the series. He will now look to carry his sublime form in the upcoming white-ball series in South Africa, which starts on December 10.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) lauded Mukesh Kumar for his exploits with the ball in the final T20I. One user wrote:
"Mukesh Kumar left his honeymoon and delivered for India. A selfless player played for the team."
Here are some more reactions:
Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh star as India beat Australia by six runs
A clinical bowling performance from Mukesh Kumar helped India beat Australia by six runs in the final T20I on Sunday. Apart from Mukesh, Arshdeep Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi bagged two wickets apiece.
Arshdeep, in particular, defended 10 runs in the final over, and also got the prized scalp of Australian captain Matthew Wade 22 (15).
Chasing 161, India restricted Australia to 154/8. Ben McDermott starred with the bat, scoring 54 off 36 deliveries, including 5 sixes. Travis Head (28 off 18), Tim David (run-a-ball 17) and Matthew Short (16 off 11) got starts but failed to take their team past the finish line.
Earlier in the day, India posted 160/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Shreyas Iyer delivered with the bat, scoring 53 runs off 37 balls, comprising two maximums and five boundaries. The vice-captain ensured India posted a respectable total as wickets continued to tumble on the other end.
Apart from Iyer, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal too chipped in with scores of 31 (21), 24 (16), and 21 (15), respectively.
Jason Behrendorff and Ben Dwarshuis bagged two wickets apiece for Australia, while Aaron Hardie, Nathan Ellis, and Tanveer Sangha picked up one wicket apiece.