India clinch T20I series 2-1 against Australia after call-off at Gabba
India won the T20I series 2-1 against Australia after rain washed out the final T20I between the two teams at the Gabba. Only 4.5 overs were possible in the game, with lightning first stopping the match before the heavens' gates opened up to wash it out.
India clinched the five-match T20I series against Australia after their final T20I at Gabba on Saturday was washed out due to rain. The Men in Blue won the series 2-1 and continued their magical run in Australia.
India have never lost a T20I series of two or more matches in Australia, now having won three with two drawn outcomes. They had lost a one-off T20I between the two sides in 2008, but never in a series. The tradition will continue now with the visitors bagging this series 2-1.
After being inserted to bat, India could bat for only 4.5 overs before the lightning halted the play and the players went off the field. With the anticipation of a resumption growing, rain began to fall, with India on 52/0 after 4.5 overs. India were going well in the first innings with vice-captain Shubman Gill, who copped criticism from some corners for his strike rate in the fourth T20I, having made a quickfire 16-ball 29. Abhishek Sharma survived a couple of easy chances as Australia made blunders on the field, with the opener making an unbeaten 13-ball 23.
Abhishek Sharma fastest to 1000 T20I runs; named Player of the Series
While the game didn't even go past the powerplay, there were fireworks from Gill and Abhishek, with the latter being dropped twice. During the course of his knock, Abhishek also completed his 1000 T20I runs for India and has also become the fastest man to do so among Full Members.
The swashbuckling opener took only 528 balls to get to the mark, eclipsing his captain Suryakumar Yadav, who had achieved the milestone in 573 deliveries.
Fastest to 1000 T20I runs (by balls faced):
528 Abhishek Sharma
573 Suryakumar Yadav
599 Phil Salt
604 Glenn Maxwell
609 Andre Russell/ Finn Allen
India unbeaten in T20Is since December 2023
While this was achieved after their win in the fourth T20I, it is worth mentioning that India, the current T20 World Champions, are unbeaten in T20I series since December 2023. The last team to beat the Men in Blue in a series was West Indies, who had defeated the Indians 3-2 in the Caribbean. During this time, India have won 12 T20I series apart from a 1-1 stalemate in South Africa in December 2023.