Young Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, who was given the Player of the Series award after India’s 2-1 win over Australia in the T20 series, was not given the Impact Player of the Series medal. Instead, an all-rounder was rewarded in the Indian dressing room.
India toured Australia for a white-ball tour, consisting of a three-match ODI series and a five-match T20I series. The return of Indian stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was the highlight, but India lost the ODI series to hosts Australia by a 2-1 margin.
The T20I series was significantly disrupted due to rain, as the first and last matches of the series were abandoned. Australia started with a dominant win at the MCG, but then suffered consecutive defeats in the third and fourth T20Is, costing them the series win.
Washington Sundar awarded the Impact Player of the Series medal
India were declared winners of the series after the final match in Brisbane was abandoned due to rain. Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar played a key role in India’s two wins in the T20 series.
Washington Sundar performed well with both bat and ball after returning to the Indian T20 team after a long time. Sundar alone took 3 wickets in the fourth T20I and played a brilliant inning of 49* in the third T20I to lead India to a spectacular victory.
Although Arshdeep Singh was named player of the match, it was because of Washington Sundar’s unbeaten 49 off just 23 balls with a strike rate of over 200+. He missed his second T20I fifty by just one run; However, he claimed 50 T20I wickets for India when he took 3 wickets against Australia in Carrara.
Sundar was awarded the Impact Player of the Series, and said, “It’s a great feeling to get this medal from him. We know the kind of work he does every day to make a lot of our jobs easier. And yes, it’s amazing to come here and get the opportunity to play in South Africa, and contribute towards the team’s victory. Thank you everyone!!”
Abhishek Sharma was chosen Player of the Series
Explosive opener Abhishek Sharma completed 1000 runs in the shortest format of the game and created a record by reaching the milestone in just 528 balls. Abhishek Sharma left behind the previous records of Australia’s Tim David and India’s Suryakumar Yadav.
Notably, Abhishek Sharma scored 140 runs in the series with a half-century at the MCG. However, in other matches, he made some promising starts but eventually fell out. He was named Player of the Series for his commendable performance.
Among the players of both the teams, Abhishek Sharma was the highest run scorer in the series.
Washington Sundar was the highest wicket taker for India in the Australia series.
Washington Sundar did not get a chance to bowl all his overs on the Australia tour, as he performed well with the ball on only a few occasions. He took 5 wickets in the ODI series against Australia, as he did not get a wicket in any of the games.
Sundar was their highest wicket-taker in the series, as he took 8 wickets in the ODI and T20I series combined. He bowled in 4 matches and took 5 wickets in the ODIs and then 3 wickets in the T20Is as well.
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