India's Ishan Kishan plays a shot during the second T20 International cricket match of a T20I series between India and Australia, at the Greenfield International Stadium, in Thiruvananthapuram, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Yashasvi Jaiswal manifested his abundant talent while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan displayed their grace and power with sparkling fifties as India posted a massive 235 for four against Australia in the second T20I here on Sunday.
Australian captain Matthew Wade opted to bowl first keeping in mind the dew factor as the night moves on, but his bowlers faltered against Jaiswal (53 off 25 balls), Kishan (52 off 32 balls) and Gaikwad (58 off 43 balls).
In fact, the ball came to the bat a tad slow off the pitch but the Australian bowlers in general were wayward, also offering width to Indian batsmen.
They were happy to oblige too, especially Jaiswal who took on Sean Abbot in a breathtaking fashion.
The Australian pacer rightly took the pace off his deliveries but he erred in the line and length, offering a chance for the Indian opener to free his hands.
In the fourth over, the left-hander punished Abbot with a sequence of 4, 4, 4, 6, 6 for 24 runs, which came through two square cuts, a late cut and two pulls.
In the previous over, Jaiswal and Gaikwad combined to take 15 runs off Glenn Maxwell as India motored on in the Power Play segment which produced 71 runs.
Jaiswal brought up his fifty in just 24 balls, but he could not extend the innings as a rather wild slash off pacer Nathan Ellis landed in the hands of Adam Zampa at backward square leg.
But that did not really affect the Indian innings as Gaikwad combined with Kishan, who made his second fifty in as many matches, to garner 87 runs for a bruising second wicket alliance.
After the return of Jaiswal, the visitors might have hoped to slow down India’s march, but the right-hand-left-hand combination never really allowed them to dictate the pace of the match as the home team touched 101 for 1 after 10 overs.
India progressed at around 11.5 runs per over in the middle phase of the innings despite spinners Zampa and Tanveer Sangha bowling relatively better spells.
Kishan reached his half-century in 29 balls with a massive pulled six off leg-spinner Sangha over mid-wicket.
Gaikwad, whose lofted shot over bowler Zampa’s head was a treat to watch, too reached his fifty off 39 balls with a double off pacer Ellis.
It might appear an industrious innings but Gaikwad’s solidity allowed others to launch into the Australian attack.
However, Kishan too could not build on his innings as he lost balance while trying to wallop Marcus Stoinis out of the ground, hoicking a simple catch to Ellis in the deep.
But Gaikwad stayed around to ensure that India finished their innings quite strongly, and Rinku Singh too chipped in with his customary cameo (31 off 9 balls).
Rinku robbed 25 runs off the 19th over bowled by Abbot as he leaked 56 runs off three overs in total.