India vs Australia 3rd T20I Highlights: IND beat AUS by 6 wickets in thriller to remember, win series 2-1

Ferocious and lucky, that is what Cameron Green was in that first over. He swung at every single ball that came his way, the last three balls were all swung at, none of them connected. Axar Patel bowls the second. 

Oh Green! The third ball of the over kicks up off a length, big man Green cracks it between extra cover and point. What a start for Australia!

Green whips the second ball of the first over for a six over square leg. He had taken an almighty swing at the first ball as well and that landed in no-man's land. Safe to say that Cameron Green is looking to attack early on. 

Aaron Finch and Cameron Green open for Australia, it is Green who faces the first ball. Probably because of the problems Finch has had against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, says Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary box. Bhuvi it is who bowls the first over.

Murali Kartik and Ajit Agarkar say in their pitch report that this is another good batting surface. A “fairly large surface with even sized boundaries on both sides of the square”. Importantly, dew won't be a factor.

“We would have fielded as well, it looks like a good wicket though. We always want to perform against the best sides, in that sense this is a very important game for us. The crowds in India have always been amazing, regardless of where they play. One change for us. Josh Inglis comes in place of Sean Abbott.”

“We will bowl first. It's good to be back in Hyderabad and play in front of this crowd. We look to keep winning games, it's important to maintain your momentum in this format of the game, so it was a good win for us (in Nagpur). Australia have always been challenging, they bring in a different kind of challenge. We need to keep doing the basics right if we have to get success. The last win helped us gain confidence and I hope everyone steps up today. One change for us - Bhuvi is back, Rishabh misses out, we needed only 4 bowlers in the last game, so he (Bhuvneshwar) unfortunately missed out.”

Aaron Finch(c), Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Matthew Wade(w), Daniel Sams, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

India win the toss and choose to bowl. Rishabh Pant is out and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back. 

‘The Virat Kohli Show’ was on. The West Indies batted first and scored a mammoth 207/5. Virat Kohli started his innings in a measured manner and then accelarated systematically. So brutal was his assault towards the end that India actually chased down the target with eight balls to spare. Kohli, was unbeaten on 94 off 50 balls.

Well there has been some rain in Hyderabad but there is nothing on the forecast throughout the match. It has to be noted though, that it wasn't rain that was the problem during the 2nd T20I. While the valiant groundsmen ran from pillar to post in order to make the ground fit to play on, there was not a drop of rain that fell throughout the duration of the match. Let's hope that the rains today does not cause a wet outfield in Hyderabad. 

Aaron Finch(c), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Steven Smith, Daniel Sams, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Kane Richardson, Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis, Nathan Ellis

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant(w), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda

India's plans are somewhat obscure going into the T20 World Cup, which has been the case for a few years now, but one thing seems to be certain - Dinesh Karthik will not come on before the 16th over unless they have no choice but to bring him on. Those who have watched cricket for longer than the last 2 years would know that is a bit unfair, Karthik has proven himself playing in a number of positions accross formats but for now, he is seen as the ultimate finisher. He put his efficiency in that role on display once again in the 2nd T20I, smashing a six and a four off the only two balls he faced throughout the match. Both those shots came off the first two balls of the last over, with the second one sealing the win. He came, he saw, he conquered, repeat. That is what DK has been upto over the past year and a half. 

The senior Australian wicketkeeper seems to be in the form of his life. Wade scored an unbeaten 43 off 20 balls in the second T20I, which apart from Finch's 31 off 15 is one of the biggest reasons why Australia got to a score of 90/5. Before that, he smashed an unbeaten 45 off 21 balls hitting a hat-trick of fours off Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the end of the 19th over to all but take Australia over the line. It was a boundary from Pat Cummins off the second ball of the next over that finally gave Australia a 1-0 lead in the series.

India's death over bowling struggles came under even further scrutiny after Matthew Wade's late assault helped Australia chase down 209 with four balls and four wickets to spare. Then, Nagpur was made to wait for its first international match in ages because of rains from the previous day that puddled up on the ground and made it dangerous to play on in an era of drainage systems and retractable pitches, none of which have made their way to most grounds in India despite the BCCI's riches. However, if that means that every match will be reduced to 8-over-a-side sprints, fans wouldn't mind outdated technology in their stadiums. Nagpur got to watch a thriller in which Wade was the protagonist once again for Australia but this time, it was India doing the chasing and they did so with four balls to spare as well. 

There has been a stampede before this match because of an utter lack of organisation in ticket sales. A blame game has followed since then, with the HCA and its president Mohammed Azharuddin saying that the association did no wrong. Now, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) has “arrested a 35-year-old man for alleged betting on” the match, PTI reported today. “Raghavendra was arrested from Deepanjali Nagar, Bengaluru by a team of CCB for allegedly betting on the decider India vs Australia T20 match to be played in Hyderabad. According to police, 3.06 lakhs of cash and a mobile phone were seized from the accused possession.” Not the kind of stories you want to see in the buildup to a crucial game in a well fought series. 

Here we are then, Australia won the first match, India won the second, bowlers took a hammering in both games. Wonder what awaits us in Hyderabad. Regardless of what happens in this match though, Australia have shown that they will make a good accounts of themselves as defending champions in the upcoming T20 World Cup at home later this year. In this series alone, they have shown that their batting lineup is among the most dangerous in the world. Their bowling, though, would be a bit of a cause of worry.