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HOBART: All-rounder Washington Sundar truly arrived for India with a match-winning 49* from just 23, stepping up when they needed it most here at Bellerive Oval in the second T20I against Australia.
India chased down the stiff 187-run target in 18.3 overs on the loss of five wickets with nine balls to spare. With this win, the Men in Blue levelled the five-match series 1-1.
The star of the night was Washington Sundar, who arrived when India were 111-4 in 11.1 overs. The left-hander forged two crucial stands, first with Tilak Verma off 34 runs and then 43 from just 25 balls with Jitesh Sharma, which took his side over the line.
Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill started strong with 33 on the board in 3.3 overs. Sharma got going with six in the over, followed by four, six, and four in the second over.
However, Ellis got better off him in the third over with a bouncer. The left-hander perished after making a brisk 25 from just 16 balls, striking two fours and two sixes.
Meanwhile, Gill, who is yet to impress on the tour, departed after scoring just 15 from 12 balls. As a result, India were 61-2 in 5.3 overs. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav, meanwhile, was looking good but was dismissed in the seventh over, which lifted Australia.
He made 24 from just 11, with the help of two sixes and a four.
Australia continued to chip away with wickets at regular intervals, but Washington’s brisk batting took the game away from them. He hit four sixes and three fours in his knock. Abhishek Sharma, who replaced Sanju Samson in the side, made 22* from 13, striking three fours.
For Australia, Nathan Ellis remained the pick of the bowlers, scalping three wickets in his quota of four overs.
Earlier, after being put into bat, Australia racked up 186-6 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Tim David’s explosive 38-ball 74, which included five sixes and eight fours.
He rescued Australia from a precarious position of 14-2 in 2.3 overs and hit a brisk fifty. Like David, Marcus Stoinis also rose to the occasion and hit 64 from 39 balls, which provided the home side a strong finish.
For India, Arshdeep Singh gave 35 and picked three critical wickets in four overs, while Varun Chakravarthy bowled well for his two wickets.
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