Arshdeep and Washington star as India level T20I series in Hobart

India roared back to level the five-match series 1-1 with a five-wicket win over Australia in Hobart on Sunday, in a performance which highlighted why the team’s obsession with batting depth over proven wicket-takers is perhaps hurting them.

India dropped Harshit Rana, the nippy pace bowler known to hit a long ball, for their all-time leading wicket-taker Arshdeep Singh, and brought in Washington Sundar for Kuldeep Yadav. 

Arshdeep walked way with Player-of-the-Match honours for taking 3/33, of which two came upfront in the Powerplay and the third at the death to cut off the marauding Marcus Stoinis. Washington, in his first game of the series, did not get a chance to bowl on account of Stoinis (64 off 39 balls) and Tim David (74 off 38) in the mood to smash spin, but the allrounder was there to finish a chase of 187 with a terrific unbeaten 49 from 23 balls. 

Arshdeep, who now has 104 T20I wickets at a strike-rate of 13, has played in just six of India’s 15 matches this year. In his first game of the series, he reminded the management why keeping him out in such conditions can look silly. His first wicket was the dangerous Travis Head, who miscued a loose shot to mid-off, and then Josh Inglis picked out to the fielder at fine leg. An expensive third over at the death, as Stoinis found room to ramp and steer boundaries, was followed by a clever 20th over from Arshdeep as India kept Australia from getting closer to 200.

Also starring were the world’s No 1 T20I bowler, Varun Chakvavarthy, who took out Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Owen off successive deliveries, and the wily Jasprit Bumrah who though wicketless, did well to concede only 26 runs from his four overs. 

David was in an altogether different mood after the early wickets, immediately driving and lofting the ball with power and precision. He smacked five sixes, one of which sailed 129 meters past the boundary, after being promoted to No 4. David needed just 23 deliveries to get to his half-century, and during the process crossed 1000 runs in T20I cricket. The only one of Australia’s top five to pass 10, David was the sole reason the hosts did not cave in earlier. 

He found an ally in Stoinis, the muscular allrounder who smashed eight fours and two sixes, before Matt Short finished strongly with 26 not out from 15. 

Nathan Ellis then removed Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill early to give Australia a boost, but the visiting team found way to get to 187. The captain Suryakumar Yadav hit 24 off 11 balls, Tilak Varma made 29 fro 26 and then came the match-clinching partnership between Washington and Jitesh Sharma (22* off 13). Earlier in the matc, Washington had dropped David on 20, but he made amends with a superb finishing effort of 49* from 23 deliveries. He swung the expensive Sean Abbott for two successive sixes in a big over, one that swung the momentum decisively India’s way. Jitesh, the third change to India’s 11, played a cool hand to get India home with nine deliveries to spare.