Star turns from Hobart’s local Big Bash stars Tim David and Nathan Ellis were not enough to stop India roaring back into the BKT Tyres T20I series thanks to a blistering late cameo from Washington Sundar.
David smashed five sixes, including one that carried 129 metres, in a 38-ball 74 that rescued Australia from a slow start before Marcus Stoinis (64 off 39) helped them post a competitive 6-186.
Ellis, in the absence of spearhead Josh Hazlewood, then troubled the visitors with his pace, taking 3-36 from his four overs including dangerous openers Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma.
But India, despite losing regular wickets, controlled the chase with an even spread of contributors with the bat.
Allrounder Washington, playing his first match of the series, shrugged off a crucial dropped catch earlier in the match off David (when he was on 20) as well as captain Suryakumar Yadav’s decision not to bowl him by hitting an unbeaten 49 from only 23 balls.
Washington hit two of his four sixes off consecutive Sean Abbott deliveries in an innings-turning over that went for 19. Jitesh Sharma (22no from 13), also a fresh face in this campaign after replacing Sanju Samson as India’s keeper, hit the winning runs to see the visitors home with nine balls to spare.
David passed 1,000 T20I runs in his thunderous 23-ball fifty, continuing to highlight his suitability for a permanent top-order berth as the other four members of Australia’s top five all failed to pass 10.
Stoinis and Matt Short (26no off 15), the latter holding his spot for this match after Glenn Maxwell appeared to fail a late fitness test, picked up the slack after David’s exit left Australia on 5-118.
Their final tally, however, always looked short of the type that would challenge India, particularly given the absence of key bowlers Hazlewood (who has been released to play in the Sheffield Shield to tune up for the Ashes) and Adam Zampa (paternity leave).
Xavier Bartlett and Matthew Kuhnemann fought hard but Abbott (0-56 from 3.3 overs) was expensive, after their bowling counterparts had earlier held their nerve amid the David and Stoinis onslaughts.
Varun Chakaravarthy (2-33) recovered from seeing his first two balls to David dispatched for 10 by conceding just 23 runs from his final 22 balls.
Chakaravarthy, the mystery spinner and No.1 ranked T20I bowler, also sparked the night’s great disappointment, dismissing last summer’s KFC BBL|14 Final hero at this ground, Mitchell Owen, for a golden duck in his first T20 innings here since his match-winning ton.
Owen’s rough night was capped when he dropped a catch off Jitesh late in the match with 15 runs still required, though by that point Suryakumar’s men had all but secured victory.
David strode to the crease in the Powerplay for the fifth time this year in T20Is and promptly unfurled a first ball cover-driven four off the red-hot Arshdeep, the recalled left-armer who was fresh off dismissing Travis Head and Josh Inglis with the new ball.
Suryakumar’s decision to insert Australia after a rare toss win looked a sound one when the Aussies fell to 2-14 but India’s captain soon had a major headache as David picked off his bowlers.
Whether it was a strategy or a failure to execute, India fed an increasingly destructive David’s penchant for off-side obliteration as the right-hander, who hit just eight runs through the leg-side, feasted on his home Big Bash ground’s small square boundaries.
The Hobart Hurricanes man also took a liking to the long ones; a straight 129-metre blow off Axar Patel that even had David himself smirking.
Australia v India T20Is 2025
October 29: No result
October 31: Australia won by four wickets
November 2: India won by five wickets
November 6: Fourth T20I v India, Gold Coast Stadium, Gold Coast, 7:15pm AEDT
November 8: Fifth T20I v India, The Gabba, Brisbane, 7:15pm AEDT
Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott (games 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman (games 3-5), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (games 4-5), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (games 1-2), Ben McDermott (standby player) Glenn Maxwell (games 3-5), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe (wk), Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Tanveer Sangha
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar
