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SKY's India complete 4-1 hammering of the Aussies - Follow the MI boys

By Mumbai Indians

There’s no time to mop over the World Cup. And in the perfect move-on-quickly tactic, India and Australia are locking horns in a five-match T20 series. Three of our Mumbai Indians stars – Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav – are all set to take the field in a quest to bring our smiles back. With aapla dada Surya also being elevated to the skipper, our pocket dynamo Ishan once again unleashing his super starts and the upcoming star in Tilak looking to make the middle-order spot his own, this running blog will follow every performance of the MI boys in the Indian Blue ..

5th T20I | Bengaluru [India won by six runs]

Suryakumar Yadav: No bat, no problem. Aapla Dada Surya's expert man-management skills once again helped India outclass the Aussie opposition. Defending 160 was tight, but given the wealth of experience being in high-pressure situations, ice-cool SKY had the game in control despite it going right to the wire at the end.

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4th T20I | Raipur [India won by 20 runs]

Suryakumar Yadav: While the Aussie bowlers denied SKY from bringing out his usual fireworks with the bat, Aapla Dada Surya turned into a master strategist. His optimal use of Axar Patel (3/16) and the starry cameo of Rinku Singh (46 off 29) meant he won his first series donning the captain's hat with a match to spare.

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3rd T20I | Guwahati [Australia won by 5 wickets]

Suryakumar Yadav: Five fours, two sixes in a 29-ball 39 when the team was in a spot of bother after losing two wickets in quick time, SKY was his usual self – aggressive and consistent. Alas, on the field, despite his best efforts in marshalling his troops, the bowlers couldn’t handle Glenn Maxwell’s assault.

Tilak Varma: With Ruturaj Gaikwad going berserk from the other end, Tilak Varma was happy to play the second fiddle while closing out the innings. His 24-ball 31 saw India mount a massive 222 in their 20 overs.

Ishan Kishan: Not the best of days for our pocket dynamo with the bat and behind the stumps. He couldn’t quite get started with the bat, mistiming a cut straight into the hands of cover for a duck.

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2nd T20I | Thiruvananthapuram [India won by 44 runs]

Ishan Kishan: Typically Ishan stuff! A measured start, and then the explosion. Three fours, four sixes, a fifty, and taking on the mantle after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s blitz at the top to firmly have his foot on the gas.

Suryakumar Yadav: He walked in with four overs to spare, tonked a couple of sixes in his 10-ball stay of 19, and then marshalled his troops superbly to maintain his 100% win record.  

Tilak Varma: Short, sweet, mighty effective. He got just two balls to face, smashed a six off the first, and then took a single off the next to hand the strike back to Rinku Singh who was on a rampage at the other end.

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India vs Australia, 1st T20I | Vizag [India won by 2 wickets]

Suryakumar Yadav (80 off 42 balls): There are good ways of putting the disappointment of the World Cup final behind you, and then there is what SKY did. Back into the format where he’s officially THE BOSS, he walked in with the team in a dicey position. 22/2 and chasing a mammoth 209. But SKY needs no time. Immediately the carnage was unleashed, with nine fours and four sixes, taking India right to the doorstep of victory. Talk about bringing joy to the whole country!

Ishan Kishan (58 off 39 balls): Batting at number three, he was the perfect foil to Surya’s madness from the other end. He gave the innings a much-needed impetus when he went after Tanveer Sangha’s leg-breaks. It was  a smart knock: taking his time in the beginning, getting his eye in, steadying the ship after two early blows, before typically going on the offensive.

Tilak Varma (12 off 10 balls): He walked in after Ishan fell, and after a couple of tentative shots, belted back-to-back boundaries off Sangha, before ultimately top-edging a looped up delivery and falling in the quest to up the run-rate for the side.