India 188 for 5 (Washington 49*, Ellis 3-36) beat Australia 186 for 6 (David 74, Stoinis 64, Arshdeep 3-35) by five wickets
India’s entire top seven made contributions in the chase but it was Washington and Jitesh who finished the chase superbly with an unbeaten 43-run stand. Washington, playing as a specialist bat given he didn’t bowl, made his second-highest T20I score of 49 not out off 23 while Jitesh made 22 not out off 13 in his first T20I in over 18 months after replacing Sanju Samson.
Arshdeep’s early strikes, David’s devastating counter
Australia are still getting used to seeing David walk out in the third over of an innings, as he did after Head and Inglis fell cheaply to Arshdeep’s early swing. But David showed zero regard for the perilous position his team was in and unleashed a brutal counterpunch. He drove his first ball for four wide of mid-off and launched Bumrah over cover. Having fallen meekly to Varun in Melbourne, he clubbed the spinner for four and six off consecutive balls. David gave a life off Bumrah on 20, slicing a hard-hit square drive to backward point which burst through Washington’s hands. It proved costly. David carved Bumrah over cover again and then assaulted Axar Patel with two huge hits in three balls. One was projected to travel 129m had it not clattered off the roof above the sightscreen.
India’s attempt to use Shivam Dube as the fifth bowler was met with three thunderous cover drives in four balls to bring up David’s fifty in 23 deliveries. He shared a 59-run stand with Mitchell Marsh who contributed just 5. What was most impressive was how he handled Varun. Marsh holed out to India’s trump spinner before Mitch Owen was clean bowled first ball through the gate, completely misreading the length, line and variation.
Varun returned in the 11th over to bowl his third with figures of 2 for 14 and Australia vulnerable. David launched him fearlessly for two massive sixes to finish with 26 from 10 off India’s most dangerous spinner. He looked set for a certain century only to slightly under-club Dube to Tilak Varma, who took another wonderful catch at long-off while tight-walking the rope.
Stoinis and Short combine, Bumrah and Arshdeep finish well
Ellis versus Abhishek 3.0
Washington wizardry sees India home
Washington not bowling a ball when Dube and Abhishek conceded 56 as India’s fifth bowler was strange, especially as Australia’s right-hand heavy line-up was known before Washington was selected. But he proved why he’d been picked to bat at No. 6. Bouncers had accounted for two of India’s top five. Ellis and Sean Abbott’s three combined attempts to bounce Washington all disappeared into the square leg seats. India had lost wickets at regular intervals but the continued clean striking meant there was never any run-rate pressure. Washington cleared the rope once more off Matt Kuhnemann to get the target under a run-a-ball inside the last four overs. Jitesh played an excellent cameo in his first T20I in over 18 months, including scooping Ellis to the rope. He got a reprieve when Owen dropped him running back from mid-off. But Washington kept calm and carried on, nailing Stoinis straight before Jitesh lofted over cover to win it with nine balls to spare.