After a rain-hit opening T20I of the five-match series between Australia and India at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, where less than 10 overs were possible before the umpires called off the clash, the focus shifted to the second fixture between the two sides at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). It had been a vital series for both sides, keeping the T20 World Cup 2026 in mind. 

The coin continues to fall in favor of the home captain, Mitchell Marsh, who had no hesitation in bowling first on a surface that looked better for batting. The decision didn’t make Suryakumar Yadav fussed much as they went with an unchanged eleven while the hosts brought Matthew Short back into the eleven.

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Shubman Gill’s early issues in the opening over against Josh Hazlewood put them under immense pressure before Abhishek Sharma frees his arms in the second over against Xavier Bartlett from the other end. On the last ball of the second over, the southpaw danced down the track and swung his willow to get a six through a lofted cover-drive.

Watch: Abhishek Sharma smashes Xavier Bartlett for 6 during AUS vs IND MCG T20I

This shot came two balls after Abhishek ran down the track and forced the bowler to bowl a full toss, which he timed perfectly over the deep cover. After that, India lost both Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson. The former couldn’t cross the fielder in the 30-yard ring while Samson was adjudged leg before the stumps for two runs.

A stunning six from Abhishek Sharma to get the MCG crowd fired up 😱 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/azTBA0Lsle

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 31, 2025

Abhishek, on the last two balls of the fourth over, collected two boundaries against Nathan Ellis. On the penultimate ball of the fourth over, the left-handed batter used the bounce of the ball and timed it over the wicket-keeper’s head for a four before collecting another boundary over the cover region.

It was still a great start inside the power play for the Indian side, who lost three wickets, including their captain, Suryakumar Yadav, for one run. They found themselves crawling at 32/3 in the fifth over of the innings. Abhishek was in a different mood with unbeaten 24 runs in nine balls at a strike rate of 266.67.