Media365
NEW DELHI: India had a terrible start in the second T20I against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday as their top five batters fell cheaply. The scoreboard read 5, 2, 1, 0 and 5 — a collapse that left the visitors reeling early in the innings.Batting first, India lost Shubman Gill for just 5 runs. Josh Hazlewood, who has been in brilliant rhythm lately, provided the breakthrough with a well-directed delivery. Gill tried to loft it over mid-off but failed to connect cleanly, and the Australian captain completed a simple catch after moving a few steps back. Gill looked frustrated as he walked back to the dressing room.In the following over, the experiment to send Sanju Samson at number three also failed. Nathan Ellis trapped him leg before wicket for only 2 runs. Samson was beaten by a sharp nip-backer that came in after pitching. He stayed deep in his crease and was struck on the back leg. The ball-tracker showed it would have gone on to hit the leg stump, confirming an easy decision for the umpire.Hazlewood returned to dismantle India further in his third over, removing Suryakumar Yadav for 1 and Tilak Varma for a duck. Suryakumar was undone by a short delivery that nipped away slightly. He was squared up completely and edged it to the wicketkeeper, Josh Inglis.Tilak Varma’s stay was even shorter. Attempting to play across the line, he mistimed his shot and got a top edge that went high in the air. Inglis settled under it near short fine leg to complete a comfortable catch, leaving India tottering.Hazlewood’s consistency and movement off the pitch made batting extremely difficult for India. His Test-match precision in a T20 contest exposed the top order’s struggle against bounce and seam at the MCG.India’s woes continued when Axar Patel was run out for 5 after a sharp piece of fielding from Tim David, leaving the visitors in further disarray.
