Hazlewood, Marsh help Aussies defeat India by four wickets

A Josh Hazlewood masterclass with the ball and a batting blitz by Mitchell Marsh carried Australia to a dominant four-wicket win in the second T20I against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

Fast bowler Hazlewood took 3-13 and racked up 15 dot balls in a devastating opening spell as Australia bowled out India for 125 in front of a crowd of 82,438 at the sporting colosseum.

Captain Marsh smashed 46 off 26 balls and shared in a 51-run opening partnership with Travis Head before the hosts reeled in the modest total with 40 balls to spare.

With the series-opener in Canberra washed out by rain on Wednesday, Australia will take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series into the third game in Hobart on Sunday.

India opener Abhishek Sharma top-scored with 68 off 37 balls, further enhancing his burgeoning reputation with a fine first fifty on Australian soil.

However, he was one of only two India batters to reach double figures on a lively pitch that offered pace and movement off the seam.

With Marsh winning the toss and electing to field, Hazlewood had Shubman Gill given out lbw on the first ball.

While the decision was overturned on review, Hazlewood followed up with a short ball that crashed into the crest of Gill’s helmet.

A shook-up Gill slogged Hazlewood to be caught for five, triggering a top order collapse.

Hazlewood removed Suryakumar Yadav for one, the skipper’s fourth single-digit score in six matches, before dismissing Tilak Varma for a duck two balls later with a top-edge caught by wicketkeeper Inglis.

Suryakumar praised pacer Hazlewood for his three-fer and lauded team-mate Abhishek’s batting display.

“Absolutely - the way he bowled in the powerplay, if you’re four down in the Power-play it’s difficult to recover from that. Credit goes to him, Well bowled to him, he bowled really well,” he said.

“Abhishek has been doing this for quite some time now. He knows his game, knows his identity, and it’s good he’s not changing it - that’s what’s brought him success. Hopefully, he sticks with it and plays many more knocks like this for us,” said Suryakumar in the post-match presentation ceremony.

By the end of Hazlewood’s four-over spell, India were in huge trouble at 32 for four.

“The ball feels like it’s coming out really nicely at the moment in whatever format I’m turning up and playing,” said man-of-the-match Hazlewood.

“It was just put the ball in the right areas, don’t try too much and see what happens.”

Sharma made a bright start amid the Hazlewood onslaught, smashing 14 runs off paceman Xavier Bartlett (2-39) in the first over he faced.

He and Harshit Rana (35) combined in a 56-run stand for the sixth wicket to save India from embarrassment.

But Bartlett recovered well from his bruising early spell, dismissing Rana and Shivam Dube (4) in quick succession, the latter brilliantly pouched by a diving Inglis.

Another sharp catch in close by Sean Abbott saw Kuldeep Yadav depart for nought before Nathan Ellis (2-21) dismissed Abhishek lbw, ending India’s hopes of a decent total.

Cricket falls silent across Australia after teenager killed by ball: A minute’s silence was held ahead of Australia against India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday as the sport mourned the teenage Australian player who died after being hit by a ball.

In scenes replicated across the country, Australia’s players and their Indian counterparts wore black armbands and paused before their Twenty20 international to remember Ben Austin.

The 17-year-old died on Thursday after being hit in the neck before a local Twenty20 game in Melbourne while in the nets facing a ball-throwing device.

He was wearing a helmet, but reportedly not a stem guard, which protects the neck.

It revived memories of Test star Phillip Hughes, who was killed in 2014 when hit in the neck by a ball during a domestic Sheffield Shield game.

A sell-out crowd at the 100,000-capacity MCG joined both teams in standing in silent remembrance of the teenager.

Also Friday, the Victoria and Tasmania teams put their bats out as a symbol of respect, wore black armbands and held a minute’s silence as Austin’s image was beamed on a big screen before resuming their domestic match in Melbourne.

There were similar scenes in Perth, where Western Australia were playing South Australia.

In Mumbai, both India and Australia wore black armbands during their women’s one-day World Cup semi-final on Thursday.

“Thanks to the Indian team for joining us in wearing black armbands to pay tribute to Ben Austin, a young man from Melbourne who tragically lost his life playing the game we all love,” the Australian side said.

“Sending love to Ben’s friends, family and cricket mates.”

Agencies

Brief scores: India 125 all out in 18.4 overs (Abhishek Sharma 68, Harshit Rana 35; Josh Hazlewood 3-13, Nathan Ellis 2-21) lost to Australia 126/6 in 13.2 overs (Mitchell Marsh 46, Travis Head 28, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-23, Kuldeep Yadav 2-45) by four wickets