India’s white-ball tour of Australia has come to a tame end, with lightning and rain resulting in an abandoned match to close out their five-match T20 series.
After losing the toss and being sent into bat one last time this tour, the visitors got off to a flyer with the bat — hitting 0/52 off their first 4.5 overs before lightning forced players from the ground.
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Shubman Gill (29 not out of 16) and Abhishek Sharma (23* off 13) hit the hosts to all parts of the Gabba on Sunday night, however the latter did it with an incredible amount of luck.
The normally-flawless Glenn Maxwell dropped a regulation chance off the bowling of Ben Dwarshuis on just the fifth ball of the match.
Dwarshuis’ night only got tougher from there though, getting hit for a quartet of fours in just five balls, before dropping Abhishek the very next over at deep backward square leg.
The 25-year-old opener added further salt into the wound with the last ball of that same over, hitting Nathan Ellis for six over mid-wicket.
Lighting was detected within eight kilometres of the Gabba just before the end of the fifth over, which saw both teams leave the field of play promptly as rain loomed.
Unfortunately for both sides, play was halted by lingering lightning and consistent rain for the remainder of the night before play was officially called off at 8:50pm local time.
Despite his frustrations with the conditions, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh said it was a “great series”.
“I can’t remember the last time we played and we had some many rain interruptions, but all in all, it was a great series, with two really good teams going at it,” Marsh said.
“India won the games when it mattered, so congratulations to them.
“There were a lot of learnings to take forward, a lot of positives. The adaptability and the flexibility of our group, and the squad that we’re trying to build in a World Cup year has been amazing.”
While he only faced 16 balls out in the middle for the series finale, Gill’s cameo could just be enough for the Test captain to retain his place up top for India’s next T20 series against South Africa starting December 10.
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Wisden Cricket’s Sarah Waris published a column on Friday titled: ‘Time to end the Shubman Gill T20I trial – it costs India too much’, one of multiple outlets suggesting someone else should be given a shot to open in his place.
“The impact of this sudden reshuffle has extended far beyond the top of the order … with Gill now drafted to open, (Sanju) Samson has been pushed down the order, where he has managed just 134 runs at a strike rate of 121.81,” Waris wrote.
“Meanwhile, Suryakumar is struggling for rhythm, and with both Tilak Varma and Gill occupying anchor roles, the team has one anchor too many … the result is a line-up that feels unsettled, chaotic, and far removed from the cohesion that had driven recent success.
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“The question remains: will the team bend backwards for an individual, or will they find individuals that fit into a system that was consciously integrated by a captain after the horrors of the 2022 World Cup? The answer determines where Indian cricket is headed.”
T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav is also well and truly in the spotlight, having now only passed 25 twice in his last 18 international innings.
Australia XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Matthew Short, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Josh Philippe, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa
India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
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