Abhishek Sharma Fights Alone As Indian Batters Hand Harshit Rana The Stage At Melbourne

The second T20I between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground turned into a strange story. On one side, Abhishek Sharma fought like a warrior. On the other side, every other batter seemed to play just to give Harshit Rana his moment with the bat.

India could manage only 125 runs in 18.4 overs after Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first. The scorecard tells a shocking tale. Except for Abhishek Sharma and Harshit Rana, no Indian batter could cross even 10 runs.​

Top Order Fails Completely

The collapse started early. Shubman Gill walked back after scoring just 5 runs from 10 balls. Josh Hazlewood got him caught by Mitchell Marsh. Gill tried to hit the ball out of the park but failed to clear mid-off.​

Sanju Samson came in at number three but could not do anything special. He scored only 2 runs from 4 balls before Nathan Ellis trapped him LBW. The ball tracking showed it would have hit middle stump. Samson’s stay at the crease lasted hardly any time.​

Captain Suryakumar Yadav also disappointed. He scored just 1 run from 4 balls before Hazlewood struck again. Josh Inglis took the catch behind the stumps. Suryakumar got out to a delivery that moved away slightly and squared him up completely.​

Tilak Varma’s innings was even shorter. He got out for a duck, scoring 0 runs from just 2 balls. Hazlewood dismissed him too. Tilak tried to play across the line but mistimed his shot. The ball went high in the air and Inglis settled under it near short fine leg to take a simple catch.​

Axar Patel Run Out

The trouble continued for India. Axar Patel managed to score 7 runs from 12 balls but got run out. Tim David fielded sharply and threw the ball to Josh Inglis who removed the bails quickly. India lost their fifth wicket with just 49 runs on the board.​

At this stage, India looked finished. Five wickets down in just over seven overs. The score read 49 for 5. The situation looked hopeless. But then came a partnership that gave India some respect.​

Abhishek Sharma Shows His Class

While everyone else struggled, Abhishek Sharma played a different game. He scored 68 runs from just 37 balls. His innings had 8 fours and 2 sixes. He struck the ball at a rate of 183.78. When others were falling like nine pins, Abhishek kept attacking.​

Abhishek hit boundaries regularly. He did not let the Australian bowlers settle. When Xavier Bartlett bowled, Abhishek charged at him for a six. He found gaps in the field with ease. His footwork was quick and his bat swing was clean.​

The left-handed opener reached his fifty in just 23 balls. It was his sixth half-century in T20 Internationals. The Indian crowd at the MCG erupted when he brought up his milestone. He cut Matthew Kuhnemann to deep point for a single to complete the fifty.​

Abhishek scored boundaries even when the pressure was high. He rocked back to a short and wide delivery from Mitchell Owen and sliced it over backward point for four. With third man inside the circle, it was a smart shot from the southpaw.​

Harshit Rana Provides Support

Harshit Rana came to bat at number seven. Many people questioned this move. Shivam Dube was waiting in the pavilion. Dube is known as a power hitter who can change games. But the team management sent Harshit ahead of him.​

The decision turned out to be right. Harshit scored 35 runs from 33 balls. He hit 3 fours and 1 six. His strike rate was 106.06. More importantly, he stayed at the crease and gave Abhishek the support he needed.​

Harshit and Abhishek added 56 runs together for the sixth wicket. This partnership took 47 balls. It was the longest and most valuable partnership of the Indian innings. Without this stand, India would not have reached even 100 runs.​

Harshit hit some beautiful shots. On the fourth ball of the eleventh over against Matthew Kuhnemann, he cut the short ball hard. The ball found the gap between backward point and short third man. It raced to the boundary.​

In the 15th over, Harshit played his best shot of the evening. Marcus Stoinis bowled a slower delivery. Harshit picked it up early and set a solid base. He smashed the ball over the mid-wicket region for a six. This shot helped India cross the 100-run mark. It also completed the 50-run partnership between him and Abhishek.​

Other Batters Contribute Nothing

After Harshit got out, Shivam Dube finally came to bat. He scored 4 runs from just 2 balls, hitting one boundary. But then he poked at a rising ball from Xavier Bartlett. The edge flew to Josh Inglis who dived to his left to take the catch. Dube’s innings lasted hardly any time.​

Kuldeep Yadav could not score at all. He made 0 runs from 6 balls before Marcus Stoinis got him caught. Varun Chakaravarthy also could not get off the mark. He scored 0 runs from 1 ball and remained not out.​

Jasprit Bumrah came in last but got run out for a duck. Nathan Ellis threw the ball quickly and Bumrah could not make it back to the crease. He scored 0 runs from 1 ball.​

Josh Hazlewood Destroys India

Josh Hazlewood bowled brilliantly for Australia. He took 3 wickets and gave away just 13 runs in his 4 overs. His economy rate was only 3.20. He dismissed Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma.​

Hazlewood’s spell in the powerplay was deadly. He bowled with perfect line and length. The ball moved both ways. The bounce troubled the Indian batters. They could not play him freely.​

With these three wickets, Hazlewood reached 79 T20I wickets. He became Australia’s joint-second highest wicket-taker in the format. He equaled Mitchell Starc’s record. Only Adam Zampa has more wickets for Australia in T20Is.​

Hazlewood’s figures of 3 for 13 are the third-best bowling figures by an Australian bowler against India in T20Is. Jason Behrendorff holds the top spot with 4 for 21. Nathan Bracken is second with 3 for 11.​

🚨 ITS SOLD OUT IN MCG FOR INDIA vs AUSTRALIA T20I TODAY 🤯

– The Capacity of MCG is 100,024. pic.twitter.com/iWsrjNXJco

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 31, 2025

Other Australian Bowlers Also Shine

Nathan Ellis picked up 2 wickets. He dismissed Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. Ellis bowled 3.4 overs and conceded 21 runs. His economy rate was 5.70.​

Ellis got Abhishek out with a perfect yorker. The ball crashed into the stumps. Abhishek’s brilliant innings finally ended. Ellis then ran out Jasprit Bumrah in the very next delivery. He threw the ball quickly to the keeper’s end.​

Xavier Bartlett also took 2 wickets but went for runs. He bowled 4 overs and gave away 39 runs. His economy rate was 9.80. He dismissed Harshit Rana and Shivam Dube. Both batters got caught trying to play big shots.​

Marcus Stoinis picked up 1 wicket. He bowled 4 overs and conceded 24 runs. He got Kuldeep Yadav caught by the substitute fielder Abbott.​

Mitchell Owen and Matthew Kuhnemann could not take any wickets. Owen bowled 1 over for 13 runs while Kuhnemann bowled 2 overs for 14 runs.​

India’s Powerplay Disaster

India scored just 40 runs in the first six overs and lost 4 wickets. This was a terrible start. The mandatory powerplay went completely in Australia’s favor.​

By the end of the eighth over, India had lost 5 wickets for only 49 runs. Half the team was back in the pavilion. The situation looked hopeless. The Indian batting order had collapsed like a house of cards.​

The first wicket fell in the third over. The second wicket came in the fourth over. Then Hazlewood struck twice in his third over. He removed Suryakumar and Tilak in quick succession. This double blow left India reeling at 32 for 4.​

Numbers Tell The Story

Look at the numbers from the top order. Shubman Gill scored 5 runs. Sanju Samson made 2 runs. Suryakumar Yadav got 1 run. Tilak Varma scored 0 runs. Axar Patel managed 7 runs. All five batters together scored only 15 runs from 32 balls.​

On the other hand, Abhishek Sharma alone scored 68 runs from 37 balls. Harshit Rana made 35 runs from 33 balls. These two batters together scored 103 runs from 70 balls. They contributed more than 82 percent of India’s total score.​

The partnership between Abhishek and Harshit was worth 56 runs. This was the biggest partnership of the innings by far. The next best partnership was just 20 runs between Abhishek and Gill at the start.​

After Harshit got out, the remaining batters scored just 20 runs together. Shivam Dube made 4, Kuldeep scored 0, Abhishek added 15 more runs before getting out, and the tail could not contribute anything.​