After the washout result in the opening T20I at the Manuka Oval and Australia’s victory in the second encounter at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the focus was on the third game of the five-match series at the Ninja Stadium in Hobart between Australia and India, for whom it was a vital clash to stay active in the series. 

Quite surprisingly, in a change of fate, India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, won the toss and decided to bowl first on a surface that was anticipated to provide some early swing and movement. The tourists made three changes in their eleven by bringing Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, and Washington Sundar, while the home side got Sean Abbott in place of rested Josh Hazlewood.

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Arshdeep made an early impact with the new ball, sending back Travis Head on the fourth ball of the game. After a double on the opening ball of the over, the southpaw went on his back foot and timed the left-arm seamer through the fine-leg fence for a boundary. But the Punjab-born had the last laugh.

Watch: Arshdeep Singh draws first blood with Travis Head’s wicket during AUS vs IND 3rd T20I in Hobart

On the fourth ball of the over, Head was dismissed for six runs. It was a wide-length delivery outside the hitting arc of the batter, who got forward to loft it, and the ball kept shaping away. It saw the ball going ballooned in the air as Suryakumar Yadav settled under it at mid-off and grabbed an easy catch to send the aggressive batter back into the clash.

Back with a bang! #ArshdeepSingh forces #TravisHead into a drive and #SuryakumarYadav makes no mistake. #AUSvIND 👉 3rd T20I | LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/JJaBX22Idf pic.twitter.com/gpdBAZjFpO

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 2, 2025

It was the third dismissal of the pacer against Head in T20S in seven innings. The batter has clubbed 57 runs in 38 balls in this battle at an average of 19 and a strike rate of 150. In his second over, Arshdeep picked up the wicket of Josh Inglis.

India made a clinical start with the ball inside the power play. But they needed to get Tim David early in the innings, as the batter has a fine record of 577 runs in 26 T20 innings at this venue at a strike rate of over 170.