India secured a 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series against Australia in Queensland on Thursday, maintaining their unbeaten streak since the last T20 World Cup. Former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has identified opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakaravarthy as key targets for opposition teams in the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in India in three months.The match at Carrara Oval saw India post 165 runs and successfully defend the total against Australia. The game revealed significant aspects of both teams’ strengths and weaknesses, particularly in how Australia handled India’s key players.
“So far, I was saying that handling Jasprit Bumrah is critical, but I would now say, from what I have seen, Tim David handled Varun Chakaravarthy. I am thinking teams will go for Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy if they have to get past India. Against Abhishek Sharma, we will definitely see in this series the plan that is made, and they will definitely invite that. Whatever teams are coming, they will come prepared for the World Cup. Similarly, against Varun Chakaravarthy, because that will give them leverage in that T20 World Cup,” Ashwin shared on his YouTube channel.The Australian bowling strategy against Abhishek Sharma in the powerplay overs proved effective, limiting him to 29 runs off 23 balls, with most runs coming in the sixth over.“Abhishek Sharma has been one of the deadly batters against fast bowlers inside the powerplay, against any bowler. Australian bowlers to Abhishek Sharma, in the powerplay itself, he made 29 off 23, of which a sixth over went for a lot. Before that, Abhishek Sharma was going at less than a run a ball. See, they had a plan to slightly reduce bat swing,” Ashwin observed.Ashwin detailed the specific bowling tactics employed by the Australian team, particularly Nathan Ellis’s approach against Abhishek Sharma.“You will notice that Nathan Ellis hasn’t bowled any balls within the stumps to Abhishek Sharma. They have gone wide outside the off stump, and they also went a bit pace off to make sure that a swinging arc is curtailed. So against Abhishek Sharma, he is not weak on the off side; he hits very strongly there. But they are limiting hitting areas by bowling slightly wider and also taking the pace off so that it can come a bit straighter. I thought they bowled really well,” Ashwin explained.In the current World Cup cycle, Abhishek Sharma leads India’s batting statistics with 989 runs, while Varun Chakaravarthy has emerged as the leading wicket-taker with 43 wickets in 22 matches.The series continues with both teams preparing strategies for the upcoming matches, with particular focus on these key players who could potentially influence the outcome of the T20 World Cup.
