Yet another abysmal winter for England

Insanity is doing same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~ Albert Einstein

England finished their winter season today. Stats from this season are woeful. Played: 7. Won: 0, Lost: 5. Four of those losses were in Ashes and one was against the kiwis today. Lost both series. England leave Hagley oval tonight with same questions as they had when they first landed in Brisbane five months ago. Being denied by New Zealand's lower order meant they are now winless away from home in a record 13 matches. They have lost 5 of them by innings. That is bad even by England's standards.

Other than boxing day test, when Cooky saved England from whitewash and the performance in Christchurch this week, there is not much to show for during this whole dreadful season. From getting bowled out to 58 to losing by innings from 368-4 at WACA, this season had every ingredient of a nightmare. Stokesy was away for the Ashes, which had a huge impact on the series result, but there was none else to blame other than himself. He needs to learn and hopefully he will.

During this winter season, the performance of pacers other than Jimmy and Broad was absolutely stinking. While Broad and Anderson averaged 29 together, rest of the others averaged a whopping 72! You don't win many games when third, fourth and fifth bowlers average in excess of 70.

The team looks horrendously unstable. I love Cooky as much as anyone else, but 80% of his runs in last 20 innings have come in just 2 innings (243 against West Indies and 244* at MCG against Australia). He averaged less than 10 in this current series, which is simply not good enough for someone having scored more than 12,000 test runs. It is creating pressure on newbies like Stoneman. England would want him to come back with oodle of runs this summer. He is the best batsman in England and he has earned his right to call his time on career, but time also seems to be closing on him quickly.

While the white ball team is on a roll and arguably the best in the world right now, the test team in general looks abysmal. Trevor Bayliss is not having any answer to their overseas test woes. In my opinion, England cricket needs a fresh red ball coach and a new beginning starting with chopping and changing the coaching staff. ECB needs to prioritize Test cricket again. By focusing more on white ball after 2015 world cup, they seem to have forgotten about test cricket completely. Nothing seems to be working. The concern now is that England's overseas problems could start to erode a healthy home record that has propped up their Test standing over the last two years.

There are some silver linings from all this though. Malan looks like the find of the season. Vince was convincing on a number of occasions, though he still averages in the 20s after 13 games, but IMO he is worth the investment. Stoneman looks like a good bet considering the form Alastair Cook is in. Mark Wood is fit and back in the team. His pace will be crucial when England visits Australia again in the future. Anderson is as breezy as ever. In fact, like an old fine wine, he is getting better and better with age. Even in the disaster of Ashes, he managed to pick 17 wickets at a respectable average of 27. Today at Hagley Oval, he also overcame Courtney Walsh to become the bowler to have bowled maximum number of deliveries by a pace bowler in tests. That is an excellent testament to his longevity in the game and his services to English cricket. Broad endured his toughest ever year in 2017, but seems to be back reasonably well as his performances in New Zealand show. Jonny Bairstow has become arguably their most reliable batsman.

On the downside, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes were disappointing. Woakes averages 61 with the ball overseas, which is ridiculously bad. Ali neither seems to be getting runs, nor pick up crucial wickets, which made him useful in the first place. Root has had 7 fifties this season and yet he failed to convert a single one of them into a hundred. Vince promises so much, yet he delivers so little. Mark Stoneman got a couple of starts in Ashes and looked good on a number of times. Even in this series he got two fifties, but time seems to be running out for him as well. Neither Stoneman nor Vince has nailed down their spots, though ECB is likely to stick with them for a while. They have experimented with Leach, Crane, Curran etc. but none of them have been very impressive. It will be interesting to see their starting XI in the coming summer.

There is just so much chaos that I can't possibly say. Serious changes are needed, otherwise touring teams next summer are going to give them a really hard time. I will watch from the sidelines as usual and wish them luck as always.

The gloom of WACA

It is done and dusted. Before Christmas. Yet again. England endured once again one of those WACA tests. They have been losing on this ground since Dinosaurs used to roam around the earth. They have only ever won one Test in the western Australian outpost back in 1978 and last avoided defeat there in 1986. This is abysmal even by England's poor standards.

In many ways, the WACA always brings out my worst memories. I will describe only two recent ones:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          Ashes 2013-14 WACA test (13-17 December 2013)

In Ashes 2013-14, when Cooky got a first ball jaffa by Ryan Harris (it was 16th December 2013), my heart sulked and I wanted to be dead.

WACA test in 2013 made me an atheist. The moment when England's second innings began, I had never felt as excited as that before in my life. Cooky was my favorite test cricketer back then. He was playing his 100th test match and captaining England who was 2-0 down and the only hope of retaining the Ashes was to save the game by batting out 5 sessions. Cooky had never got a golden duck in tests before. He was the highest scorer in England's first innings(He got 72). It was GAME ON.

Ryan Harris starts with the first ball. There was a huge crack in the good length area at the WACA. Cooky was on strike. Harris (known as Rhino among his team-mates) starts running. The whole of Australia and the whole world was watching. Harris picks up the pace in the background clapping noise of the WACA. He goes past the umpire, his biceps brushing his ears and he delivers the ball. Then this happened:

"Did it hit the seam? Did it hit a crack? Did it swing after pitching? Whatever it did, the opening delivery Harris conjured for Alastair Cook in the second innings of the WACA Test was truly a collector's item. this was an offering of symbolic value far beyond the fact of its taking a most important wicket in an extraordinary way. It summed up how hard Australia had worked to give themselves a chance in the series, and how wondrously all that work paid off, with a little serendipity thrown in. For the rest of his life, Harris is entitled to dine out on this ball, just as Cook is entitled to have nightmares about it."

Harris ran so hard after the wicket as if he was about to take off to the moon. None was catching him. The crowd and commentators were exuberant. All I could hear was them saying, "Oh! STRAIGHT-AWAY" after I had heard the clinking of stumps. Cooky didn't even look back and just looked at the large screen. He was on his way back. Walk of shame. Here he was. Captain of the side who had to lead from the front to give England a chance of saving the Ashes. And he was gone for a first-baller. Life can be indeed cruel.

For me, it didn't stop there. I could almost hear my heart-beat beating so fast. I thought that I will get a heart-attack. I just put my head in pillow. I put the television on "Mute" and just started chanting, "it's just a game. it's just a game. it's just a game." like a madman. A part within me just died that moment. I had never hated everything on earth so badly. All I could do was utter the swear words for Australians in a non-stop manner. I was abusing and cursing God himself. How could he do that? Why did he do that? Why would he do that to me? Was it part of some grand plan made by him? Was Cooky's getting out related to some greater good of the universe? Will Cooky get more peace in after-life because of that golden duck? Then I couldn't keep it together and I just said, "Screw God. God doesn't exist. God shouldn't exist. And even if he does and he let this happen, I am done with him." I never felt so dejected in my life than that moment. The expectation was enormous. Ah! Expectations. They are the source of all the pain.

Australia regained the urn at WACA on December 17, 2013, after enduring 3 successive Ashes losses.

The only silver lining from that WACA test was: Ben Stokes made a brilliant test hundred before England lost. So, at least WACA did manage to give us an English Hero in the form of "Ben Stokes" who arguably is the most valuable player in the world right now. I will take that.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  Ashes 2017-18 WACA test (14-18 December 2017)

There was so much build-up to this match. England was as usual 2-nil down in the series. The good part was that they were the previous Ashes winners, so that meant that they only had to avoid defeat here to maintain a chance of retaining the urn. England had played well at Gabba and in the day-night test at Adelaide but just were unable to win key moments. Australia was not as good as everyone thought they would be. They just managed to hang on for a longer period and they looked like a team on the downhill in second innings in Adelaide. I had a genuine belief in my heart that England was only one session away from breaking Australian resistance.

I didn't want to feel like I did in 2013 WACA test. So, I made a pact with myself. I won't follow the ball-by-ball commentary or live action for this test match. Just an occasional fling at twitter or cricinfo. I won't watch the WACA test as it had brought so much trauma in 2006, 2010 and 2013. This was a place comparable to hell itself for me. Life seemed to be at its lowest point. Aussies used to murder the opposition at WACA. No matter how much they were struggling previously, at WACA Aussies used to bend the laws of nature itself to crush anyone who came in their way.

Because of my pact, I missed out a dream-filled day from England on day 1. England was 305-4 with David Malan making a scintillating hundred. Every time I watched the score I imagined him playing the shots against Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins, and Lyon. It appeased me. I really thought that this was the day England were going to turn it around. I envisioned a scoreline of England winning the Ashes 3-2. No team had won the Ashes from being 2-nil down in the last 90 years. So I thought that it was probably due anyway. Nature will conspire to make it happen. You know, nature just doesn't like anomaly like "never happened in 90 years". Bring on day 2!

It was day 2 when the hopes started to fade away. Though I was so happy for Jonny making his first Ashes ton, From a position of 368-4, England did what they always do. Explode. Hand over the advantage on a silver platter to Australia.

They got all out on 403 and hence lost a massive chance of batting Australia out of the match. Last 6 wickets adding a dreadful 35 runs. The score was undoubtedly competitive, but it was nowhere near safe. The pitch was dry, no sideways moment and England's quicks, though skillful, are medium pace at best. Australia ended the day 200 runs behind with seven wickets in hand. Smith on batting on 92.

All I could think that night was how England was going to get early morning breakthroughs and gain a handy lead of 50-60 runs which could be decisive on widening cracks of WACA. I was thinking how Steve Smith will be so alone in fighting it out with only Shaun Marsh as recognized batsman left. Next man in was Mitchell Marsh, who I have always thought as the worst test all-rounder to have ever played for Australia. I often used to joke with my brother about how Mitch Marsh was a waste of plane ticket and Australia could better use that ticket to send someone else, not necessarily a player who could at least bring something to the table.

Next day was December 16, 2017. The nemesis itself. Smith will bat out the whole day for Australia. The hope of regaining the Ashes will be sucked out after 16th December.

On this day, my worst fears came true. I promised myself that I won't watch the scoreboard for the whole day. I will keep myself busy with research work while silently wishing for England to do well. It was a tacit agreement between me and England. I won't watch the score and they will deliver me the good news at stumps.

I fulfilled my promise. England, not so much.

On this day, Australia plummeted England into the ground by hammering 346 runs for the loss of just one wicket. Steve Smith made his highest test score and Mitchell Marsh got his maiden test hundred (that too a daddy one). I felt as if Mitchell Marsh was laughing and cursing at me. I saw the highlights. He was so excited and celebrated so hard on getting his hundred. He totally shut me up. I was speechless. Though I was dejected at England losing their way, I felt strangely peaceful. There was a serene beauty in knowing that you tried your best, it just wasn't meant to be. It was the victory of mastery over fate. In some corner of my wretched heart, I felt happy for that bastard. I let it go. All my anger vanished. Breathe. just breathe. Let it go.

I have been an English cricket fan for as long as I have watched cricket. And because of that Australia remain the ultimate cricketing enemy to me. I have always wanted them to lose against England no matter what. But, I have always secretly admired the way they go on about their business. Always taking the game forward. "You can win from anywhere", Shane Warne used to say. The sheer ruthlessness and dominance of Oz have always inspired me. I wanted England to be like them. Brutally annihilating the opposition. Historically, England has always been soft. They have never been ruthless. They are just happy to scrap for a series win. Once they win a series, they let it slip away. They never go for the kill. They will get happy with a scoreline of 3-2 as long as they are on top. I have always hated that. I wanted England to be wild hunters. I wanted England to be those whack-job guys you meet, who after being punched in the face will spit blood and a few teeth and will tell you to fucken try harder. I wanted them to be bloody aggressive. Not mushy and weak. There was always a beauty in which Australians played cricket. The way they used to beat the shit out of everyone was spectacular. You will almost feel the happiness being sucked out of you. You will even secretly enjoy it. That was their aura.

Anyway, Long story short. Australia, after 16th December 2017 ended, were in such a position from where they couldn't lose the test match. It was either England's loss or with extreme weather interruption a stalemate of a draw.  Next day wasn't so bad. England managed to stop Steve Smith from getting a triple ton and Mitchell Marsh from a double. It was hard to even believe that they managed to take 5 Australian wickets within a few hours of play. The lead was sizeable already. But with rain and using the bat effectively, it could be saved.

Rain did its part. England players not so much. James Vince received the alleged ball of the 21st century. That missile from Mitchell Starc's hand pitched on middle stump line at 90 miles an hour, hit one of the WACA cracks and instead of going to pads of James Vince, changed direction as if it was being controlled by Starc telepathically. It deviated dramatically and disturbed the off-stump. It was the most spectacular ball I had ever seen. It was UNPLAYABLE. I couldn't imagine anyone avoiding at least a leg before to that ball. James Vince was befuddled. His face was someone like a boy who can't find his parents on a crowded airport. He had no idea what the hell just happened. Starc celebrated as hard as he could. England was fighting like a cornered cucumber.

Last day was a formality. Even with the rain, England couldn't save it. It was all over. Hazlewood spared them the pain. It was almost as if he was consoling them, "It's okay. Travel safe. It's not the end of the world". Aussies had regained the urn on December 18, 2017. The Christmas was still a week away and the Ashes was back where it belongs for now. England was not disappointed. They were just sad. They knew that they were beaten by a team who were genuinely better than them.

To me, the gloom and horror of WACA continued. The only silver lining for me in this entire episode was, "At least it was WACA farewell match." No more agony. Next matches in western Australia will happen in the newly built stadium. I can only hope that the ghost of WACA doesn't know the way there.

Ashes 2017-18 preview: The battle is ON

Finally, the most awaited sporting event in test cricket is here. England and Australia going for the prized possession of Ashes. The greatest test series between two cricketing nations.

Last time England were in Australia: (2013-14) Relief. That was the state of mind of England players last time when they visited Australia and lose inside 3 days at SCG completing the whitewash. Second whitewash in three visits to the country.  But, the times have changed. This is no longer the Australia, which played in 2013-14. Apart from a few players, most of them haven't even played in an Ashes test. Australia won 5-0. I think 2013 ashes was a very good indication of what was to follow. England managed to hang on by winning 3-0 there, but later that year, Australia completely destroyed England in their home. Both Johnson and Harris were like hounds looking for a sniff to get English batsmen out. England couldn't catch a break. Losing inside Sydney inside 3 days was almost a relief for them. This series also ended some great England players to have ever played the game. Kevin Pietersen was sacked, Graeme Swann was forced to retire. Jonathan Trott flew back home after the first test. He only played 3 tests after that. The scars left on England's players were just too much. Johnson ended up with 37 wickets in 5 games.

Second last time England were in Australia: (2010-11) England won 3-1 (all 3 wins were by an innings) First time in history, Australia lost more than 1 test by an innings in one home season. This was the Ashes which redefined England completely. They broke Australia apart. On a ground, which is said to be the cauldron for visitors, England were 517/1. Cook averaged 127, while Trott averaged 89 in this Ashes. KP masterpiece of 227 gave them Adelaide test match. Rest was formality. Australia were thrashed on their home soil by England for first time in 28 years. The only sole victory came when Johnson ran through England at WACA. When next time England visited this country, he will murder them. 

Third last time England were in Australia: (2006-07) Australia won 5-0. England captain: Andrew Flintoff. Australian Captain: Ricky Ponting. Other than one game at Adelaide oval, which was a horror loss for England, rest of them were straightforward hammerings. This series brought upon the retirements of some great players like Justin Langer, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath etc. England were simply not good enough. Australia were buzzing with skilled players and England simply had no answer to them.

Last time Australia played England (It was in England): Ashes 2015: England won 3-2. Redemption to Cook after 599 days. He found himself again. This was a series of swinging pendulum. No team seemed to seize the momentum. In first test at Cardiff, Brad Haddin dropped Root and Root made them pay by a brilliant hundred. England went 1-0 up. Then, at Lords at flat deck, England were hammered by Smith. Third and fourth tests England won inside three days by a series of 6-fors by Finn, Stokes, Anderson and Broad's dream spell of 15-8. England did to Australia what Australia had done to England 18 months ago. This series brought an end to some illustrious career of Australian players. Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers all took a call on their test careers.

Ashes 2013 (In England) England won 3-0. The series was actually closer than the scoreline suggested. Cracks were beginning to form in England team. They managed to hang onto the crucial moments. Australia were rubbish in Trent bridge when debutant Agar saving them from humiliation. At Lords, they were abysmal. Then, they played some good cricket before being annihilated by Stuart Broad's magic at Chester-le-street. At oval, bad light resulted in a draw when England needed 17 off 4 overs. All in all, England were way ahead of Australia.

Ashes 2009 (In England) England won 2-1. England managed to hang onto a draw by 10th wicket partnership between Panesar and Anderson. Then, defeated Australia at Lords after 75 years. Freddie became Jesus and then lastly at Oval, Broad blew them apart while England unearthed another talented batsman in Jonathan Trott who notched up a ton on debut.

Ashes 2005 (In England) England won 2-1. England captain: Michael Vaughan leading England to victory after 19 years of humiliation. Last time England won the Ashes was in 1986-87. Australian captain: Ricky Ponting. His first Ashes loss against England. He will go on to lose two more. England got a few superstars in the form of Kevin Pietersen. Andrew Flintoff finally broke the drought of Ashes for England.

Statistics: Last 6 Ashes. England won 4 (all 3 at home, 1 away from home) Overall: Australia and England have won 32 series each and five series have been drawn.

Now, here we are. Near Ashes 2017-18. Verbal battles never cease to stop before Ashes. Warner has called it a "war" and would like to create "hatred" for England players in his mind. Hayden has called England "a rabble". Nathan Lyon has stated that "Matt Prior was scared to face Australia and wanted to return home in 2013-14 series". Handscomb has said that "He would like to hear chirps from barmy army". Cummins has said that "they would like to inflict the same pain like they did in 2013-14". Warney has given the advantage to "England". McGrath as usual must be chanting "5-0" somewhere.

Everyone is busy making predictions. KP says that Australia will win, though closely. Bell, Vaughan, Swann and a lot others have other ideas that England are going to pull this off.

England team selection: Ben Stokes is a huge miss. Lower middle order of England is arguably the best in the world. Top order, though immensely fragile seems to be finding form in the warmups. Cook: The best opener in test cricket right now. Root is the best batter in England. Bairstow has come up of age. Ali is the trump card. Woakes is perfect number 8. Anderson and Broad are the current best opening ball pair. Mark Stoneman has passed score of 50 in each outing on this tour. Malan has got a hundred in warmup too. James Vince remains a work in progress. England are a strong force by all means and I would certainly expect them to fight till the end.

Australian team selection has been a bit bizarre. Tim Paine has been given the nod ahead of Matthew Wade. Last time he made a first class century was in 2006. To put that in perspective, Darren Lehmann, the australian coach last made a first class hundred in 2007. That speaks volumes of the confusion Australia are going through. Other than Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins, the bench strength of Australian bowling seems very ordinary. Lyon has brought pressure upon himself by constant blabbering. Handscomb, Bancroft, Marsh remain unproved in highly intensed Ashes matches. If Smith and Warner fail, they may fail to win a single test match. Player by player comparison, England stand out over Australia, though home advantage is something which plays heavy roles in such series.

My gut says England are going to win Ashes 2017-18. Prediction: England winning 3-1.

England's guide to winning this Ashes

England's Guide to Winning this Ashes

Australia Tour of India 2017

Australia and India both have been proud nations in terms of cricket. Australia, on one hand have dominated the whole cricketing world for a very long time and unarguably the greatest cricketing nation of all time. India, however have progressed spectacularly well in last 20 years and they have as good a team as they ever had. In the beginning of this year in 2017, Australia toured India for 3 tests. Later on, in September-October they came back to complete the limited over leg of the tour. The 4-match test series between them was a huge success. From DRS brain-fade of Steve Smith to O'keefe destroying India in the first match, From Pujara marathon knocks to Rahane's dynamic captaincy, it was a blockbuster series. I have already written over that here.

Coming to this limited over leg of the tour, Australia came to India with possibly the worst momentum they could have. They didn't win a single match in ICC Champions Trophy 2017. That makes them the only top nation who have failed to win a single match in Champions Trophy since 2009 (when they had won the tournament). They were rusty in the test series against Bangladesh where they somehow managed to hold onto a drawn series after losing the first test. Though Bangladesh are a very formidable opponents at home, still this was the first test loss of Australia against Bangladesh and I still think Australia should have done better than a draw.

India, on the other hand were flying. Before this series, they were number 1 in tests and number 2 in ODIs with the trailing points for first spot in ODIs shrinking. When, this series was done, they were number 1 in both formats quite comprehensively. They were close to flawless in Champions Trophy 2017 when only possibly the best all-round performance by Pakistan halted their march in the finals. Just before this series, India annihilated Sri Lanka in all formats 9-0 in their own backyard. They were ready.

ODI Series (5 matches)

First ODI, September 17, 2017 - Chennai
Australia started the series splendidly. They had India down at 11 for 3 and 87 for 5 when they let it slip away. MSD showing his vast experience and Hardik using his newly found wings destroyed Australian attack to push India to 283, which was very close to Everest on slow Chennai pitch. Zampa and his leg-spin were hammered all around the park by Pandya. Australia were asked to chase 164 in 21 overs after the rain break, but India were just too good. A fine spell by Bhuvi and Bumrah in beginning followed by magic of wrist spinners sealed the deal in India's favor.

Second ODI, September 21, 2017 - Kolkata
Probably, the best chance Australia had to come back into the series. They had India all out at 250 and should have chased it down quite comfortably. Instead, they chose to mess it up. Yet another collapse at Eden Gardens brought them very close to losing the series. Wrist spinners once again proving out to be Aussies' kryptonite.

Third ODI,  September 24, 2017 - Indore
For Australia one of the major concerns in the opening two games was the form of Hilton Cartwright. He was brought into the team as a backup opener, but Bhuvi and Bumrah were just playing with him. He struggled to put bat on ball in both games and it was almost a relief when he got out. Both his ODI innings were deeply painful and agonizing to watch. Australia were missing big man Aaron Finch badly. But, no more. He was back. And back with a bang. Finchy made a ton and Australia were set for 350+ when Finchy and Smithy were batting till 37th over. Another masterpiece by Bhuvi and Bumrah restricted them to sub-300 total and now it was India's game to lose. India's job was made reasonbly easier when Smith chose to give very short spell to Cummins and Coulter-nile. Both Rahane and Rohit Sharma milked the Australian bowlers and after they put on a 100+ partnership, it was a cake-walk from there. A few quick wickets in the middle brought some excitement, but the door was closed by Hardik Pandya coming in at number 4 and guiding India to a series victory. 3-0 up. India went to Number 1 ODI team as per ICC rankings.

Fourth ODI,  September 28, 2017 - Bengaluru
Finally, Everything came together for Australia for the first time in the series. Won the toss, batted first, batted big. Warner getting a fine ton in his 100th ODI, while Finchy missing out on consecutive ones. India took it for granted and chose to rest their best two bowlers and paid the price. 334 in 50 overs proved to be a little too much for India in spite of excellent batting. To me, Rohit Sharma run out by flying Steve Smith was the turning-point of the match. Pandya and Jadhav gave Australia a bit of scare in the end, but one of the most spectacular displays of death bowling by Richardson put the game in Australia's bag and hence they avoided the embarrassment of blue-wash.

Fifth ODI, October 1, 2017 - Nagpur
This was a game, which was almost meant to be. India showing their pure class and beating Australia in a one-sided contest. Bhuvi and Bumrah were brought back as number 1 ranking came at stake. Australia were restricted to 242 and it was made to look like an absolute joke when Rohit Sharma single-handedly took care of the chase. Australia were beaten 4-1 and India were established as a new number 1 ODI side in the world.

T20I Series (3 Matches)

Then, came T20 series. A series of 3 matches to finish off the tour. As is often the case, T20s bring the teams closer together and it is often a very good way to finish a bleak tour on a high. To Australia's disappointment, Steve Smith got injured before the series and had to fly home. David Warner was appointed as stand-in captain for the series. Australia got some fresh faces for the series like Henriques, Christian, Behrendorff etc. They were raring to go.

First T20I, October 7, 2017 - Ranchi
I have always hated the idea of toss being the crucial factor in a game. Both the T20s in the series were remarkably similar and very much decided by the toss itself. India did to Australia what Australia later did to India in the series. In Ranchi, India chose to bowl first and Kuldeep Yadav making a mess of Australian middle order. They were 118-8 when rain came. Later on, India were asked to chase 48 in 6 overs which was ridiculous. It was easily taken care of and India were 1-0 up putting Australia in tremendous pressure.

Second T20I, October 10, 2017 - Guwahati
This was the first international game ever at newly built stadium of Guwahati. This match transpired very similar to first game, with only difference being the roles of India and Australia reversed. Jason Behrendorff produced a sensational spell of swing bowling to destroy the India top-order. A score of 118 was made to look even smaller when the dew set in. Moises Henriques showing his vast experience of IPL and finishing on a beautiful unbeaten half-century. Series: 1-1 with all to play for.

Third T20I, October 13, 2017 - Hyderabad
It is indeed annoying when the match gets called off without rain even coming. Leading up to the match, Hyderabad was soaked in rain for almost 2 weeks and hence the outfield was deemed not-fit-for-play. Australia and India sharing the series 1-1 and deservedly so. Both teams were equally flawed in T20 leg of the tour and it was overall a nice result.

Australia, no doubt will be hurting after the tour. They have an Ashes to prepare for. They managed to win only 1 test, 1 ODI and 1 T20 on India's tour, which clearly proved India's dominance in their home conditions. Australia have got a young team and they are still a long way off from being the team we grew up watching. Ashes, being played in their home will be a good chance to shed some poor memories of 2017 and slowly march their ascent to the top of the world.