A series finale awaits us in Hyderabad as India and Australia face off in a bid to capture the T20 series. This game, which will be played in Hyderabad, is the last international for the visitors before the Ashes. Follow live scores and coverage from 12:30am (AEDT) on The Roar.
After a lacklustre defeat at the hands of India in the opener, Australia bounced back strongly to dish out a sterling performance in Guwahati.
Jason Behrendorff’s first full spell saw him bag four wickets, and those were some prized wickets.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Manish Pandey are as big a set of wickets as it can get in this format of the game and Behrendorff pocketed them all with his ability to move the ball both ways.
The sticky surface didn’t help the Indians and they fell away to the same score that Australia had got in the first game, 118.
What followed would have given Australia even more hope.
Right through this year, Australia have had one major batting concern. They have collapsed at almost every point.
If the pitch has had something in it for the bowlers, wickets have fallen in a clutter, until it has become difficult to give any sort of a semblance to the run-getting.
And chasing a mere 119 should have been easy but when these collapses are at the back of your mind and you lose both your in-form openers cheaply, the soft middle-order would have begun to worry the management.
As it turned out, Moises Henriques and Travis Head rode out the storm, and aided by a wet ball and poor Indian spin bowling, crashed into the Indian party that had seen then win six of the previous seven internationals and seven out of seven T20Is against Australia.
Once they had gotten their eye in, Henriques and Head were at their punishing best, bringing back memories from the Big Bash League, as the Indian spinners went for 75 runs in 7.3 overs. The same duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav had tormented the Australian batsmen right through the tour.
But will this new-found confidence count for a lot going into the third game where the conditions could be a lot different from those at the second match?
A lot could again depend on the toss and the dew, with the team batting second having some sort of an advantage.
This ground is also Sunrisers Hyderabad’s home patch, an IPL side that David Warner has led to a title win two seasons ago and that will be a fond remembrance for the Aussie captain.
Follow the live scores and blog of the 3rd T20I between India and Australia from 12:30am (AEDT).
Scott Pryde
Expert
Bit of a shame that. Bring on the Ashes.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
The outfield was bad. Real bad. Like a replay showed one shot during practice go up in the air and plug in the outfield and disappear inside. So the good news is that it's been called off - nobody would have wanted to get injured. That's that from me too...I hope to be back for the Ashes and the Big Bash League, which kick-start on November 23 and December 21 respectively. India take on New Zealand from October 22. Later.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Right, so it's been made official then. The third T20I between India and Australia has been abandoned because of the wet outfield.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
No updates from the ground. The broadcaster has begun to preview India's next series - against New Zealand - and the players have now walked back into the pavillion. Not sure what that means anyway. Also, nearly 30k people in the ground.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Right, so it's a bit of drizzle happening now. Looks like we might not have an inspection at 7.45 pm local time after all. Also, some time back, Dean Jones was in the TV studio and he commented that if it rained even a little, the game could get abandoned totally.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Injuries aside - and that's a HUGE factor - the problem with a shortened game is it increases the luck factor. Toss becomes absolutely crucial and such a lottery is never good in a decider like this. On the other hand, you feel for the crowds who have turned up. So many of them, having probably braved the traffic and other elements to get to the stadium alone. Should soon know.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Aah okay, so there will be an inspection at 7.45 pm. Not sure whether the extra half hour will help.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Right, so I think a decision has been made. The four umpires and the match referee - quite an entourage that - are having a discussion with the two captains and... ...still waiting.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Even if they push the players into playing, and even if the players agree to do that, the question is whether it's really needed. I know, I know, it's a decider, and we all want to know who wins the T20I series and all that. But, is it really worth it? India have some big (and not so big) series coming up, and Australia, well they have the Ashes. Doesn't get any bigger than that now, does it?
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Some visuals on TV showing the outfield don't look good. The ground-staff has been working continuously on it for days now but the outfield has been deemed to be wet and soft underneath... ...which is why, the toss has been delayed and an inspection was planned for 7 pm local - the time at which the toss was to happen.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Hello there...and welcome, albeit a wet one, to the third T20I between India and Australia. Coming from Hyderabad, this one, and the news is that there is no rain but... ...but there's enough moisture in the outfield to delay the start to the game.