Australia came out all guns blazing to outclass India by four wickets in the second T20I at the MCG on Friday, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. After being asked to bat first, India failed to gain momentum against disciplined Australian bowling and could only muster 124 runs before being bundled out in 18.4 overs.
The Indian side struggled for partnerships, losing wickets at regular intervals and never truly finding momentum in their innings. Hazlewood spearheaded Australia's strangling bowling attack, returning with a figure of 3-13. He nabbed India's key players Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. Youngster Abhishek Sharma was the lone warrior in India's batting lineup, bludgeoning a well-crafted 68 runs. Down the order, a timely cameo from Harshit Rana, firing a much-needed 35 runs, helped India get to a respectable total.
In reply, Australia made light work of the chase, with skipper Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head unleashing their brutal assault at the top of the order, anchoring the innings with 46 and 28, respectively. Australia, however, found themselves in trouble for some time with their middle-order batters losing their wickets in quick succession. Bumrah in his final over took out Mitchell Owen and Matthew Short when Australia were two runs short of victory. But the hosts managed to overhaul the target in 13.2 overs, finishing at 126/6.