In the month of September 2022, Australia visited India to play a T20 series which was won by the Indian team by 2-1. Before the beginning of the 3 T20 matches series, Australia’s main players Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc, and Marcus Stoinis were injured and could not participate in the series. Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, and Daniel Sams were included in the team as their replacement.
1st T20I in Mohali
The first T20 between both nations was held in Mohali on September 20, 2022, where India got the chance to bat first and they added 208 runs on the scoreboard. KL Rahul who opened India’s innings gave a good start by hitting 55 runs and also completed his 2000 runs in T20I which made him the third Indian cricketer who achieved this feat in T20I. Apart from this, Hardik Pandya also played well at number 5 and added an unbeaten 71 runs that helped them to make 208 runs and also created the record of India’s highest total against Australia in T20I.
In reply, Australian batter Cameron Green and Matthew Wade played a vital role in the victory of Australia. Cameron added 61 runs in just 30 balls and then the rest of the work was completed by Wade by making an undefeated 45 runs in just 21 balls. Australia successfully chased the target of 209 in 19.2 overs. Indian bowlers did not have control over their deliveries and it was the first time in T20 when Bhuvneswar Kumar gave more than 50 runs in his 4 overs. Cameron Green was named Man of the Match for his match-winning strike of 61 runs in just 30 balls. That was the second biggest chase by the Australian team in the T20 international. Thus Australia took the lead of 1-0 in 3 matches of the T20 series.
2nd T20I in Nagpur
The second T20I was played at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur where the match was limited to 8 overs since the ground was not suitable due to wetness. The Indian captain won the toss and decided to field first. Australia's opener did not start well but once again Matthew Wade in the middle order handled the situation and took Australia to the 90 runs in the end. He played a crucial innings of 45 runs from just 20 balls and remained not out. For the Indian team, Axar Patel looked superb with 2 wickets and gave only 13 runs in 2 overs. When India came out with its opener KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, Rahul did not stay long but Rohit played a captaincy innings of an undefeated 46 runs and took his team to the victory in 7.2 overs only. Rohit Sharma was named Man of the Match in that match for his match-winning 46 runs.
3rd T20 in Hyderabad
The 3rd T20I was held at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on 25 September 2022. The Indian captain won the toss and decided to field first. Australia started well when Cameron Green added crucial 52 runs in just 21 balls and then Tim David who just started his international career in T20 struck 54 runs in 27 balls with four 6s. Ultimately, Australia got a wonderful start and finish and set the target of 187 for India. Axar Patel once again proved that he could play with the batter’s mind by taking 3 wickets but the rest of the bowlers especially Bumrah who gave 50 runs in 4 overs could not do much.
In reply, India sent KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to chase the target but they could not give the start that India needed. But Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav handled the situation and made a significant 3rd wicket partnership of 104 runs for India that helped them to achieve the target and thus India won the match by 6 wickets in 19.5 overs. Suryakumar Yadav was named Man of the Match for his outstanding performance with the bat.
This is how India captured the 3 matches T20 series by 2-1 and Axar Patel became the Man of the Series. Cameron Green became the leading run maker with 118 runs at a strike rate of 39.33 whereas Axar Patel was the leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets.