India vs Australia 2nd T20I: 5 reasons why India were thrashed at Guwahati

The T20 series between India and Australia is level at 1-1 thanks to Australia’s win today in Guwahati. Despite recent rains in the city, the match was held and India were put into bat first.

Youngster Jason Behrendorff did some serious damage by dismissing the top four which led to India’s scoreboard reading 27/4.

The Indian middle and lower order tried to put up a decent score but the Aussie bowling was really good in the end and India were dismissed for 118. In reply, Australia were off to a poor start as they lost both openers within the first three overs.

However, a 109-run partnership between Moises Henriques and Travis Head took Australia home with four and a half overs to spare.

Let’s take a look at 5 reasons why India were defeated at Guwahati.

#5. Using two spinners despite the dew factor

The dew factor played a huge role tonight for sure. Despite the fact that dew makes it difficult for the ball to spin, keeping two full-time spinners in the squad was a big gamble taken by Virat Kohli. The Indian skipper should have anticipated the possibility of Australia batting second and should have included Ashish Nehra as the fourth pace-bowling option

Evidently, the gamble did not pay off as both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal conceded a plethora of runs.

Henriques and Head were able to put pressure on the spinners due to the presence of dew on the pitch. The three pacers had an average economy rate of 5.88 while the two spinners went for an average economy of 10 runs per over. While Chahal went for 28 from his 3.3 overs, Kuldeep Yadav conceded 46 runs from his four overs.

#4. The inability of the Indian bowlers to cash on the good start

Bhuvi and Bumrah couldn't pick more wickets during the powerplay

India were already on the back foot when they had given Australia a meagre total of 119 to chase down. However, the Men in Blue began well with both openers Aaron Finch and David Warner being dismissed within the first few overs.

With Australia 13/2, it looked like the visitors would not have it easy. However, the Indian bowlers disappointed and could not take any more wickets. Jasprit Bumrah was a bit expensive in his third over while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya could not get a breakthrough. The spinners were thrashed and Australia eventually made easy work of India.

#3. The horrendous batting from India

Virat Kohli scored a duck

The current Indian team is well known for its batting which is considered the strongest unit in the world. However, the entirety of the Indian batting flopped today. Rohit Sharma began well with two early boundaries but like the previous game, he perished early. Shikhar Dhawan scored 2 while skipper Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck. Manish Pandey also disappointed with just 6.

The middle-order chipped in with a few runs but neither could they stay in the crease for long nor did they score quickly. The likes of Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, and MS Dhoni could only score 27, 25, and 13 with Jadhav and Pandya having their strike-rate just above 100 while Dhoni scored less than a run-a-ball.

The lower order could not do much and India had a paltry total of 118 on the board. This was India’s lowest T20 total batting first in almost 20 months.

#2. The partnership between Henriques and Head

Moises Henriques top scored for Australia with 62

Australia had a poor start to their run chase as they lost two of their talismanic batsmen Aaron Finch and David Warner within the first three overs and were struggling at 13/2. However, Moises Henriques brought the visitors back into the game.

The 30-year-old played some brilliant shots and along with Travis Head, made the match Australia’s to lose. Both batsmen batted aggressively with Head dealing mainly in fours while his partner dealt in both fours and sixes.

Henriques reached his 50 and ended the match with a brilliant boundary down the ground. Travis Head ended with 48 from 34 deliveries. The duo’s 106-run partnership from just 76 deliveries helped Australia chase down the total with ease.

#1. Jason Behrendorff’s brilliant spell

Jason Behrendorff gave Australia a brilliant start

In his T20I debut, Jason Behrendorff did not have much to offer as he only bowled a solitary over, conceding 5 from it. However, in his second match, he was probably the reason why Australia came out on top.

Behrendorff did not have a very good start with the ball as he was hit for two boundaries by Rohit Sharma. However, he rebounded well by trapping Sharma lbw before dismissing skipper Virat Kohli for a second-ball duck.

Behrendorff then dismissed Manish Pandey before taking his fourth wicket by getting rid of Shikhar Dhawan. The 27-year-old ended with 4/21 from his four overs and kept India in the passenger's seat from the beginning.

Behrendorff’s spell set the foundation on which the other Australian bowlers were able to limit India to a small total. Behrendorff was rightfully adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling as Australia levelled the T20 series 1-1.