Australia suffered the embarrassment of being beaten by India on their own turf 1-2 in the recently concluded five-match T20I series. Before this series, Australia had beaten their opponents 2-1 in the ODIs. In this series, save Nathan Ellis, none of their players turned up, and as a result, their performances were a shadow of what they had been in the 50-over format. In the batting department, Tim David (89 runs) and captain Mitchell Marsh (87 runs) were the only saving graces for the Aussies, whereas India, on the other hand, had the services of opener Abhishek Sharma, who ended the series with 163 runs.
The southpaw, who flourishes when the fielding restrictions are on, was also adjudged as the player of the series. Alongside fellow opener Shubman Gill (132 runs), Sharma took the attack to the Australian bowlers throughout this series and tormented them with his brilliant strokeplay. One of the astounding things about Sharma is the fact that he does not take his feet towards the ball, but plants it straight in a general direction instead. This allows him to get beside the line of the ball and swing his bat with a total flow.
Gill, on the other hand, is more conventional and plays his shots with a straight bat, which look like they have come out of a textbook. Australia were largely helped by Nathan Ellis since he was the only one who could contain the marauding Indian batters. Ellis's knowledge of these conditions, as well as his experience of playing in the Indian Premier League, has allowed him to devise slower deliveries and cutters through which he is known to fox opposition batters.
India, therefore, found him hard to read. It is no surprise that while Ellis was at the top of the wicket-takers chart with nine scalps. Varun Chakaravarthy was the second with a distant five. Australia also suffered because of the poor run of form suffered by opener Travis Head. He could amass only 34 runs in the two innings he played. Had Head got going, things would have looked very different from what they are now, and India might have been reeling under pressure.
The southpaw was dropped later on in the series since he could hit just four boundaries and one six in the two chances he got. India looked the more complete side as compared to Australia, but the latter did well with their middle-order batting. David and Marcus Stoinis (87 runs) provided stability while Marsh battled alone at the top. India, nonetheless, appear to be a fearsome unit, and will be keyed up to defend their world title when the T20 World Cup takes place in the early months of 2026.