India’s series against Australia had its own expectations. Recovering from Asia Cup 2022 loss, India had a lot of points to prove and they did it well. The series win against Australia sets the momentum for the T20 World Cup 2022. There are various takeaways from the series. LEt’s take a look at few of them:
POSITIVES
Let’s take a look at positive takeaways from the series first.
SKY reaching High!
Surya scored a scorching 36-ball 69 in the highly anticipated match after amassing a thunderous 46 in the first outing. Coming to the crease at a critical point in the game, SKY and Kohli shared a pivotal 104-run partnership to keep India in the run chase. How he has performed in the series shows the strength of the India middle order. He is the highest scoring batter for India in T20I in 2022. India would want him to continue on the same lines.
Kohli Master-Class
India’s best batter Virat Kohli stole the show yet again. When the opportunity arose, Kohli blasted his 9th T20I against Australia. To attain the 50-run milestone and end the 187-run pursuit, the run machine smashed three fours and as many sixes. His fourth fifty-plus score in the past seven T20Is is particularly noteworthy. With the T20 World Cup starting next month, Kohli seems like his former self, which is an exciting sign for India.
Axar Stealing Spin Show
Despite taking a lot of doubts over his selection, Axar ended up being the Man of Series. Axar had an outstanding series, taking eight wickets at a 7.87 average. He dismissed Green, David, Glenn Maxwell, and Tim David once. In addition he got Aaron Finch and Jos Inglis out twice. Although Australia’s pitches won’t support him much but if he works on the player’s weaknesses, it will be great for the team.
NEGATIVES
Well, All was not green for India in the series. The major setback was bowling and fielding. Let’s elaborate on that.
The opening bowling disalignment
A forgotten relationship between Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recent performances in the death-overs have been terrible. The veteran seamer’s final performance was no different, as he let up 21 runs in the 18th over. Jasprit Bumrah‘s most costly period in T20Is, 50 runs in four overs, came during this time. The duo does not seem to have gotten used to each other’s bowling style. Something they need to work on.
Death-overs
The horrifying death over display in India contingent continues. India is failing to come up with a workable strategy to defeat its competitors in death-overs. India gave away 63 runs, going from 123/6 in 15 overs to 186/7 in last T20I. The story from Asia Cup continues. It is high time the team makes changes in the plan.
Sloppy Fielding
No one will forget the Arshdeep catch miss. The India side experienced a good amount of slack for not showing the best performance in the field. We saw similar glimpses in this series. Many catches were dropped and it is not a good sign for the team.
