The ODI World Cup has ended, but cricket continues. The T20 series between India and Australia, the two finalists of the ODI World Cup, is going on as India is hosting the World Champions in their home. India made a great start in the five-match T20 series against the Aussies, winning the first two games.
Today, Australia had no alternative than defeating India in the 3rd game. It seemed India could win the series today as the 3rd match was under India’s control. But it was Glenn Maxwell once again who stepped up to rescue the Mighty Aussie. His heroic innings with unbeaten 104 runs keeps Australia alive in the T20 series. Relying on his bat, Australia chased a massive target of 223 runs and won the match by five wickets.
As it happened
India, losing the toss, started their batting innings with Yashavsi Jaiswal and Rituraj Gaikwad. But the home had a poor start as they lost two wickets within 24 runs. But opener Rituraj Gaikwad was super aggressive today against the World Champions. With skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Rituraj Gaikwad made an excellent partnership of 57 runs.
Their partnership was looking good and heading towards a big score. But Aaron Hardie broke their partnership when he picked up Suryakumar Yadavin 10.2 over. The skipper added 39 off 29 before leaving the crease.
On the other side, Rituraj Gaikwad kept hitting boundaries. He became more aggressive after getting the half-century. The opener made another massive partnership with Tilak Varma. This time, India got 141 runs from their partnership.
Opener Rituraj Gaikwad smashed a quick century and scored the highest 123 runs only from 57 balls. He also remained unbeaten and hit seven sixes along with 13 fours. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma is also not out in 31 runs. Relying on their bats, India posted a massive total of 222 runs against Australia.
Chasing the target, Australia had a quick start as Travis Head and Aaron Hardie took no time to charge the Indian bowlers. But India took control of the match soon by picking up three quick wickets. From 5th to 7th overs, the Aussies lost three wickets in difference of 21 runs.
After that, Glenn Maxwell entered the crease and started changing the scenario. He kept hitting boundaries from the very beginning and tried to make a partnership with Marcus Stoinis. Although Stoinis lost his wicket after scoring 17 runs, Maxwell didn’t stop hitting.
With eight sixes and eight fours, the destroyer scored an aggressive 104 runs only from 48 balls. His unbelievable innings helped Australia to chase the target. With Matthew Wade, Maxwell made another partnership of 91 runs, which sealed the match by five wickets. Maxwell remained not out in 104 runs, while Matthew Wade was also unbeaten in 28 off 16. Relying on their scores, Australia won the third T20 and remains alive in this series.
