Blitzkreig Down Under

Prior to the World Cup , many teams are frantically linking series after series to prepare for the big tournament . And India is no stranger to the hectic schedule .

The recently ended series of India and Australia was a very competitive series of three games , with the final game being played in Hyderabad . Going in on Sunday at 1 game apiece , the stakes were quite high for this game . India were going in this game trying to prove that their new brand of aggressive cricket was the way to go .

Being forced to bat first , Australia instead showed the Indian side their aggressive side , with opener Green smashing 52 off 21 balls followed by Tim David finising the Aussie’s innings at 54 off 27 balls , leading to a competitive score of 186 , especially on the dry , humid , bowler friendly pitch of Hyderabad . While Green and David wreaked havoc , it must be noted that the Indian bowlers otherwise did a very good job of restricting the Aussie batsmen . Axar Patel ( the eventual Player of The Series ) continued a stellar series with 3 wickets for himself , and Chahal being the most economical with his overs , effectively throttling the run flow in the middle overs .

In reply India got off to a rather start , losing both openers within 4 overs . But the innings was in safe hands as the duo of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav had a 100 run partnership to steal the match away from the Australian side . While Virat Kohli held the base with a slow and measured 63 , Suryakumar Yadav was left loose. Playing most of the balls of the partnership , he hit 69 runs in 36 balls , with 5 sixes and fours each . After Kohli got out in the last over , Hardik Pandya comfortably hit the last few boundaries required to win , ever-proving o be the reliable finisher India craved .

While this series went by in a blink , I believe Rohit Sharma has shown the world what he has sought out to achieve , a new aggressive T20 side rarely seen by the Men in Blue . As Virat Kohli takes a more of an anchoring role , the other players are filling the gaps while being more aggressive . While we may have crashed out of the Asia cup , this rejuvinated India seems to be a conteder for the World cup , and certainly one of the frontrunners of the event ahead in October .

Next stop the Proteas , until then have a great week ahead .