Chasing a modest 126, Australia crossed the finish line with 40 balls to spare, thanks to a strong start from Travis Head (28) and Marsh, whose fluent strokeplay set the tone early.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav joined Gill and immediately set the tone, launching a trademark flick over deep backward square leg, his 150th six in T20 internationals, to get off the mark in style.
India had earlier posted 264/9 after being inserted to bat in testing morning conditions, with Rohit Sharma making 73, Shreyas Iyer hitting 61 and Axar Patel chipping in with 44.
India started strongly, controlling possession and dictating the tempo in the opening quarter. Australia had an early chance, but goalkeeper Prince Deep Singh pulled off a fine save to keep the scores level.
“If you see Kranti Gaud bowling and today Sree Charani against Australia, against top quality players, she ended up giving what, 40 odd runs in her 10 overs and picked up those important wickets. I think they have been exceptional, both of them,” he said.
If Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane were Australian strongholds, Melbourne brings happy memories for India as the tourists return to the iconic ground having won the last two Tests at the MCG in 2018-19 and 2020-21, and the New Year’s Test in Sydney will bring spin into play.
Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat in the middle order in the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, has failed to yield the desired results for the Indian team in the Border-Gavaskar series so far.
Konstas was drafted in for the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, replacing Nathan McSweeney after the 25-year-old failed to decode the Indian pace ace and was dismissed four times across six innings by the right-arm quick.
Cricket Australia has advised the sold-out crowd on Boxing Day to brace for extreme conditions, with CA’s chief of cricket James Allsopp encouraging fans to take proper precautions while assuring additional drinks breaks for the players involved in the Test match.
Ever since the retirement of David Warner in January, Australia have struggled to sort out their top order conundrum, and had tried Steve Smith for sometime before opting for McSweeney in the lead-up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
