Kohli's knock of 85 in vain as Australia avoid T20I clean sweep

Virat Kohli's tremendous knock of 85 was ultimately futile as India failed to register a clean sweep against Australia. Mitchell Swepson and Adam Zampa threw India off tracks as Kohli and co lost the last T20I. This loss means that India’s streak of 9 matches has come to an end.

India, opting to bowl first, putting the Aussies up to bat. Australia captain Aaron Finch and Matthew Wade opened for Australia. Finch did not get a single run as Washington Sundar dismissed him for a duck. Matthew Wade was arguably Australia’s best batsman against India. In just 53 balls, Wade smashed 80 runs in his innings. With a strike rate of 150.94, Wade took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners.

Steve Smith was looking sharp but became prey to Sundar’s bowling. Smith was sent back to the pavilion with 24 runs to his name. Glen Maxwell was crucial to Australia’s mammoth total of 186. In just 36 balls, Maxwell smashed 54 runs. Maxwell and Wade helped Australia post a total of 186/5 on the board. T Natarajan and Washington Sundar were India’s best bowlers. Natarajan picked up 1 wicket in 4 wickets, giving 33 runs. Sundar, on the other hand, picked up 2 wickets in 4 overs, conceding 34 runs in total.

Swepson is the key architect behind India’s batting downfall

India, with a total of 187 to chase, knew they needed a good start to the innings. Rahul did not impact the innings as Maxwell dismissed him for 0. Maxwell was also brilliant with the ball, conceding 20 runs in 3 overs and picking up 1 wicket. Dhawan and Kohli put up a decent partnership of 74 runs before Swepson dismissed him for 28. The Australian team had a chance to dismiss Kohli on 3 occasions, but they failed to capitalize. This did not bode well for the team, as Kohli went on to smash 85 runs in 61 balls against the Aussies.

Eventually, Andrew Tye got the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli. Swepson then went on to pick up the wickets of Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer. Samson scored only 10 runs from 9 balls, whereas Iyer got out for 0. Zampa picked up an important wicket of Hardik Pandya, who got out for 20. Shardul Thakur gave it his best, but it was too late by then. India eventually lost the match by 12 runs.

Swepson stole the show against India that day. In just 4 overs, Swepson picked 3 wickets and conceded just 23 runs. For his spell, he was awarded Man of the Match. Hardik Pandya was awarded the Man of the Series, which he generously passed on to T Natarajan.

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