What a fit Glenn Maxwell did against India in the third T20I of the ongoing India-Australia series is what an unfit Maxwell did in the ODI against Afghanistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) recently. He single-handedly won the match for Australia. As Maxwell and skipper Matthew Wade took their team closer to the target, fans of the Men in Blue present at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati fell silent. Wade attacked Axar Patel in the 19th over, which cost 22 runs. Maxwell, who scored an unbeaten 104 from 48 balls, went after Prasidh Krishna in the last over to take Australia past the formidable target of 222 runs.
India lost the opportunity to win the series 3-0 after the last-ball five-wicket loss, but the Australian victory might have increased the average Indian cricket lover’s interest in the series.
When the T20I series began almost immediately after the Men in Blue lost to the Men in Yellow in the CWC final, there was some predictable criticism on social media. Some felt that the home team, after ten successive wins, had let them down badly. Others said that an overdose of cricket in general had become rather tiring. However, the recent performance of the relatively inexperienced Suryakumar Yadav-led squad has given rise to some interest in the series. While a possible victory in a series played between two second-string national teams cannot lessen the disappointment caused by the loss in the final of the most prestigious quadrennial tournament in the world, the possibility of watching high-scoring T20I matches is proving to be a temptation as usual. An indication of growing interest is the appearance of more trending hashtags, which discuss the match of the day animatedly. That is not surprising if you know what to expect from a typical Indian cricket fan.
The first match in Visakhapatnam, a high-scoring affair, resulted in an Indian win by two wickets with one ball to spare. Australia fell short of the Indian target by 44 runs in the second match in Thiruvananthapuram. The touring team prevented a series win for India in Guwahati, thanks to Maxwell’s magic.
Among Indian bowlers, Ravi Bishnoi and Mukesh Kumar have delivered some good news in the series. The Indian batsmen have been far more impressive. The generously gifted finisher Rinku Singh has done complete justice to his role towards the end of the innings. Ruturaj Gaikwad has demonstrated his ability to pace his innings well, resulting in an important century in Guwahati – before an unstoppable Maxwell overshadowed his performance. Ishan Kishan has been good, SKY appears to be getting back to his best in a format in which he excels, Yashasvi Jaiswal has looked hungry for quick runs at the top of the order, and Tilak Varma has performed his role competently.
The ongoing series is giving the present Indian squad an opportunity to compete against a team, whose playing eleven has enough quality in spite of the absence of most of the key players. Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa and a few others have returned’ to Australia. That has weakened the Australian team even further.
India will play three more T20Is against South Africa during their upcoming tour after the ongoing series ends, followed by three T20Is against Afghanistan’s touring side. The Indian Premier League, whose schedule will be finalised after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announces the polling schedule for the General Elections 2024, might play a crucial role before the T20I World Cup.
Several important sporting events have taken place in recent months. The Asia Cup for ODIs was held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from 30 August to 17 September. In the final, India outplayed Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka were all out for 50 in 15.2 overs, the lowest total in an ODI tournament final. India responded with 51 without losing a wicket in 6.1 overs. Few finals in any form of sport have been won with such ease.
At the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, from 23 September to 8 October, India finished fourth on the medals table with 107 medals. The tally included two golds for cricket won by the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led men’s squad and Harmanpreet Kaur-led women’s team. The ICC Cricket World Cup held in India began on 5 October and ended on 19 November. But, cricketing action will not lessen anytime soon.
Selectors will observe every upcoming T20 match closely in the coming months. There will be a lot of non-stop fun for the fans, too – especially if one starts viewing the summit clash loss in the ICC CWC as just another occurrence in cricket.
The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Among his books are ‘MSD: The Man, The Leader’, the bestselling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and the ‘Hall of Fame’ series of film star biographies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
Comments
0 comment