India rebounded decisively against Australia in Hobart, securing a five-wicket victory to draw the three-match T20I series level at 1-1. The win was spearheaded by exceptional contributions from three key changes to the Indian squad: pacer Arshdeep Singh, all-rounder Washington Sundar, and wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma. Despite a brutal counter-attack by Australia's Tim David, India's measured chase, finished brilliantly by Sundar and Sharma, proved superior.
The victory began at the toss, which India finally won, electing to field. The decision immediately paid dividends through the outstanding performance of Player of the Match, Arshdeep Singh. The left-arm quick delivered a match-defining spell, finishing with figures of 3 for 35. He removed the dangerous opening pair of Travis Head and Josh Inglis cheaply, then returned to dismiss the high-scoring Marcus Stoinis later in the innings for a well-made 64.
Australia's total of 186 for 6 was largely built on a devastating performance by Tim David, who walked in unusually early at number four. David was undeterred by the precarious position, unleashing a brutal assault that saw him smash 74 off just 38 deliveries. His innings was punctuated by a 23-ball fifty and featured huge hits off both seamers and spinners, including two massive sixes off India's spin ace, VarunChakravarthy, who had previously troubled him. Varun still managed to pick up two key wickets, complementing Arshdeep's effort, while JaspritBumrah maintained his characteristic miserliness despite conceding a dropped catch chance from David when he was on 20.
Following David's departure, a valuable partnership developed between Stoinis and Matthew Short (26 not out off 15), but clinical death bowling from Bumrah and Arshdeep ensured the target was kept to a chaseable level.
In response, every batter in India's top seven made a meaningful contribution. The aggressive start was provided by Abhishek Sharma, who raced out to 30 runs in three overs before being dismissed by Nathan Ellis for the third time this series. Despite a series of unfulfilled starts from the top order—including SuryakumarYadav and Shubman Gill—India's scoring rate remained high, avoiding pressure.
The chase culminated in a superb unbeaten 43-run partnership between Washington Sundar and Jitesh Sharma. Sundar, playing as a specialist batter and not utilized with the ball, anchored the late innings brilliantly, hitting his second-highest T20I score of 49 not out off just 23 balls. He countered Australia's short-ball strategy effectively, dispatching three separate bouncers from Ellis and Sean Abbott for sixes. The debutant Jitesh Sharma, returning to the T20I squad after over 18 months, provided an excellent cameo of 22 not out off 13 deliveries. His calm finish, including lofting the winning boundary over cover, saw India reach the target of 188 for 5 with nine balls to spare, emphatically leveling the series.
