India eye clean sweep Umesh, Ashwin impress in warm-up
Kohli’s men look to extend unbeaten run in last T20 against Oz
Sydney, Dec. 7: The series pocketed and their confidence restored, India would eye nothing less than a clean sweep when they take on an Australian side significantly weakened by injury blows, in the third and final T20 International on Tuesday.
Skipper Virat Kohli and his main protagonist of the white-ball leg, Hardik Pandya, will feel a sense of deja vu given that the script has panned out exactly like 2016 when the team got walloped in the ODIs but came back strongly to rout the Aussies 3-0 in the T20 International series.
After a couple of crushing defeats in the first two ODIs, the Indians have turned a corner starting with the final ODI in Canberra.
Even the absence of a white-ball pro like Ravindra Jadeja didn’t have an impact during their convincing six-wicket win in the seriesclinching second T20 on Sunday.
What will boost the Indian team’s morale manifold is the fact that it had the confidence to rest both Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, relying on a troika of pacers, who between them haven’t played even 40 games collectively.
India’s new white-ball sensation Thangarasu Natarajan has had a superb initiation in international cricket with Australian batsmen still finding it difficult to read him.
As Pandya so rightly put it, Natarajan’s spell and the 10 runs that Australia failed to score became the difference between winning and losing on Sunday.
The difference between India and Australia during the last game was the batting of the two teams during the middle overs.
Australia lost a bit of momentum after stand-in skipper Matthew Wade was dismissed while his opposite number Kohli played some outrageous shots after the Powerplay to up the ante. here
Sydney, Dec. 7: Senior pros Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin staked strong claims to be included in India’s playing XI for the first Test with impressive performances against Australia A, who scored 286 for 8 on the second day, riding on Cameron Green’s unbeaten century.
Australia now have a 39run lead after India A declared their innings at 247 for 9 in the first hour of the second day, with skipper Ajinkya Rahane remaining unbeaten on
117.
With Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah being automatic choices, Umesh (18-3-44-3), fighting for third pacer’s slot, certainly looked more penetrative compared to Mohammed Siraj (19-4-71
2) with the new ball. Yadav removed both rival Test team openers Will Pucovski (1) and Joe Burns (4) in his third and fourth over with the new ball to inroads.
Ashwin (19-2-58-2) also did his Test chances no harm as he reminded old timers of Australian offspinner of 80’s Greg Mathews (hero of ‘Madras’ tied Test) bowling with his cap on.
Only that Mathews was protecting himself from Chennai heat while Ashwin was reluctant to give it to fellow fielders.
For Australia A, the giant all-rounder Green make initial continued his rich vein of Sheffield Shield form with an unbeaten 114 off
173 that had 10 fours and a six. He showed good temperament against the Indian attack while adding 104 runs for the sixth wicket with his national skipper Tim Paine (44) after being reduced to 98 for 5. — Brief scores: Indian A 247/9 decl. ( Rahane 117*, Pujara
54) vs Australia A 286/8 (Green 114*, Paine 44, Yadav
3/44, Ashwin 2/58).