Washington Sundar Shines Bright as India Stun Australia in 3rd T20
Hobart/Agartala, Nov 2 All-rounder Washington Sundar showcased his batting brilliance under pressure, smashing an unbeaten 49 off just 23 balls to guide India to a five-wicket victory over Australia in the third T20I at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on Sunday. The win helped India level the five-match series 1-1, handing Australia their first T20I defeat in six games at the venue.
Chasing a competitive 187-run target, India’s batting unit delivered in patches before Sundar’s late onslaught—featuring three fours and four sixes—sealed the contest with nine balls to spare. Despite Nathan Ellis claiming three wickets, the hosts couldn’t stop India’s surge in the closing stages. Earlier, Arshdeep Singh’s impressive spell of 3 for 35 and Varun Chakaravarthy’s 2 for 33 had restricted Australia to 186/6, built on the back of explosive knocks from Tim David (74 off 38) and Marcus Stoinis (64 off 39).
India’s chase began positively with Abhishek Sharma setting the tone by lofting Xavier Bartlett for six and dispatching Sean Abbott for multiple boundaries. However, the innings faltered when Ellis removed both openers in quick succession—Abhishek miscued a pull, and Shubman Gill was trapped leg-before.
With India at 42/2, Suryakumar Yadav looked to rebuild, striking Ellis and Abbott for sixes before carving Matthew Kuhnemann through cover. But his promising start ended when he chipped a slower ball from Stoinis to extra cover. Axar Patel soon followed, top-edging a bouncer from Ellis to mid-wicket, leaving India under pressure at 90/4.
That’s when Sundar unleashed his counterattack. He launched Ellis over mid-wicket for six and pulled Kuhnemann to the fence. His defining moment came in the 14th over against Abbott, where he plundered 19 runs—a fierce drive through extra cover, a massive six over square leg, and another pull for six reignited India’s chase.
Australia hit back briefly when Tilak Varma’s attempted scoop resulted in a simple catch behind the stumps off Bartlett. But Jitesh Sharma joined Sundar to close out the chase with authority. Jitesh’s deft scoops and drives kept the scoreboard moving, while Sundar hammered a full toss from Stoinis straight down the ground for four. Fittingly, Jitesh sealed the win with a lofted drive over extra cover.
Earlier, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis powered Australia to a strong total after early blows. David’s blistering innings, laced with eight fours and five sixes, came off just 38 balls. Stoinis, equally aggressive, struck eight boundaries and two sixes. Together, they rescued Australia from a wobbly start and added crucial momentum in the middle overs.
Australia’s innings began shakily when Travis Head swiped Arshdeep for four but perished the next ball, mistiming a pull to mid-off. Arshdeep struck again soon after as Josh Inglis found square-leg. Promoted to No. 4, David displayed instant intent, driving and lofting both Arshdeep and Jasprit Bumrah for boundaries.
David’s assault continued as he dispatched Chakaravarthy for a six and a four and received a reprieve when Sundar dropped a sharp chance at point. Making the most of it, he punished Bumrah with another boundary and launched Axar Patel for two towering sixes—one measuring 129 meters, landing atop the stadium roof.
However, Chakaravarthy turned the tide in the ninth over, removing Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Owen off consecutive deliveries. Marsh, struggling for timing, miscued a loft to long-off, while Owen was bowled through the gate by a sharply turning delivery.
David responded with two more sixes off the world’s top-ranked bowler, while Stoinis joined the charge, pulling and flicking Shivam Dube for consecutive maximums. Dube eventually got his revenge as David miscued to long-off.
Stoinis and Matthew Short kept the scoreboard moving past 150, with each finding the boundary thrice. Though Stoinis was eventually caught by substitute Rinku Singh at deep mid-wicket in the final over, Australia still managed to cross 180.
In the death overs, Arshdeep and Bumrah’s disciplined yorkers limited Australia to just 16 runs in the last two overs, setting up the platform for Sundar’s match-winning heroics.
With the series now evenly poised, both teams will look to gain the upper hand when they meet for the fourth T20I later this week.
Brief Scores: Australia 186/6 in 20 overs (Tim David 74, Marcus Stoinis 64; Arshdeep Singh 3-35, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-33) lost to India 188/5 in 18.3 overs (Washington Sundar 49 not out, Tilak Varma 29; Nathan Ellis 3-36, Marcus Stoinis 1-22) by five wickets.
