India will be hoping to extend their new-found confidence as they take on Australia in the second Twenty20 International on Friday.
Although they lost the first four games of the one-day international series, India pulled one back in the final match by recording a four-wicket win in Sydney. They carried that buoyancy to Adelaide and won the first T20I comfortably by 37 runs.
In-form opener Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who hit a brilliant 90 on Tuesday, will once again be key for the tourists in the Melbourne game. The Indians are likely to retain the same eleven that took the field in Adelaide as they eye a series win to boost their self-belief ahead of the World Twenty20 beginning in March.
All-rounder Glenn Maxwell is expected to return to the Australian side after sitting out the first game with a hamstring niggle.
While India have managed to bounce back from the ODI debacle, Australia were trying to douse a furore caused by the use of on-field microphones by players in Twenty20 matches as star batsman Steve Smith lost his wicket while commentating on Tuesday.
Smith was answering questions from broadcaster Channel Nine’s commentators while he was in the middle with Aaron Finch as Australia attempted to chase down India’s 188 at the Adelaide Oval. Shortly after speaking, Smith chipped Ravindra Jadeja and was caught at mid-off by Kohli for 21, with the star Indian batsman making a “chatterbox” hand gesture at the Test captain.
Australian fans slammed Channel Nine on Twitter, blaming the commercial station for distracting Smith, while others said Kohli’s gesture was a criticism of live chat during a game.
Eye of the storm: Virat Kohli.
“Whilst we try to bring the viewer into the contest. We can’t forget it is a contest. Smith wasn’t comfortable and Kohli knew it,” one Twitter user wrote. Another tweeted: “Kohli’s message to Steve Smith was pretty clear there. This is a cricket game not a television interview. Thanks, Channel 9.”
Batsman David Warner played down the controversy, saying it was not in the interests of Channel Nine to disrupt the players.
“I’ve been doing it all the time and I feel no added pressure,” Warner told reporters in Melbourne. “It’s great that I can actually give people at home an indication of what we’re trying to achieve while we’re out there in different situations. It’s about entertainment.”
