Adam Zampa dismantles India's middle-order resistance and other talking points from Australia's T20 victory over India

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  • Zampa's two scalps dented India's middle-order fightback.

    On a day when the Barsapara Cricket Ground in Guwahati made its international debut, Australia took on India in the second of the three-match T20I series.

    The visitors were subject to a nine-wicket defeat in the first T20I at Ranchi after Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav stifled the Aussie batting line-up.

    Looking to make amends for that defeat, stand-in Australia skipper David Warner won the toss and duly elected to field first on account of the dew factor set to kick in later in the game.

    On a pitch abundant in moisture, Virat Kohli and his men found the going tough and were bundled out for 118 runs on the final delivery of their innings.

    In the end, Australia picked up only their second victory of the tour in comprehensive fashion with an eight-wicket victory to square the series at 1-1.

    And on a day when the tourists bounced right back into the series, we look at the key talking points of the match.

    BEHRENDORFF THE LATEST AUSSIE PACE ACE

    Jason Behrendorff did not look out of place in his maiden bow in international cricket.

    The 27-year-old was allowed to bowl only one over in the rain-curtailed chase for India but did admirably well, conceding only five runs off it.

    The left-arm pacer got a bigger canvas to showcase his talents in Guwahati and obliged in the very first over of the match.

    After being carted for two boundaries by Rohit Sharma, Behrendorff struck back immediately with the fourth delivery of the over to catch the India vice-captain plumb on the pads.

    He went one step further to put the hosts in all sorts of troubles when two deliveries later he had skipper Kohli caught and bowled for his first duck ever in 48 T20I innings.

    The Aussie pacer wasn’t finished as of yet and he returned in his next over to remove Manish Pandey with a beauty of an out-swinger to complete the decimation of India’s top order.

    The cherry on the cake was his scalp of Shikhar Dhawan after an excellent running catch from Warner to give the pacer impressive returns of 4-21 off his four overs.

    ZAMPA PLUGS INDIA’S MIDDLE-ORDER RESISTANCE

    After Behrendorff’s outstanding spell at the top had put Australia in command, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav were threatening to spark a rearguard action to pull India back into the game.

    Australia’s leg-spinner Adam Zampa was having none of that though. He might have been rendered largely ineffective by the Indians in the ODI series but on a Guwahati pitch aiding turn he found excellent rhythm.

    Dhoni advanced down the track to the spinner but Zampa’s length delivery turned sharply leaving the Indian wicket-keeper with no chance to get bat on ball as Tim Paine completed a straightforward stumping.

    On the other end, Jadhav was looking extremely good amidst India’s batting shambles but Zampa put the brakes on his effort before it could blossom into something deadly.

    The 25-year-old spinner outsmarted the Indian batsman with a trademark googly which shattered Jadhav’s stumps after he tried to launch Zampa over his head.

    Zampa finished with excellent figures of 2-19 off his four overs.

    HEAD AND HENRIQUES STAND TALL

    Australia’s reply of the sub-par total set by India got off to the worst possible start after Warner and Finch were dismissed early into the innings.

    At 13-2, the match was evenly poised with the hosts sensing a way back into the game against Australia’s fragile middle-order.

    Moises Henriques and Travis Head were tasked with the repair job and they executed it brilliantly despite being beaten by the ball on multiple occasions as India’s seamers found movement aplenty.

    That storm was weathered and the two batsmen launched into India’s wrist-spinners who were rendered ineffective due to the high volume of dew in outfield.

    Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were both taken for some punishment as Australia romped home without the loss of another wicket with almost five overs to spare.

    Henriques notched up second half-century in T20I cricket while Head remained unbeaten on 48 to underline Australia’s dominance.

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