Australia’s final warm-up game ahead of the T20 World Cup has thrown up more questions than answers for the struggling batting line-up.
After being 3-11 at one point, Australia eked out a modest total of 5-152, a target that India reached with eight wickets, and 13 balls, to spare.
One of the few bright spots for Australia was 57 off 48 balls from Steve Smith, his first half-century since March, while Glenn Maxwell made 37 off 28, and Marcus Stoinis an unbeaten 41 off 25.
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But the middle order couldn’t overcome a disastrous start, which saw David Warner (1), Mitchell Marsh (first ball) and Aaron Finch (8) depart inside the first four overs, as Australia’s frailties against spin were exposed.
India was hardly troubled during the match, as can be seen from the bowling figures, which feature a rare appearance from Virat Kohli, whose two overs cost 12 runs. That approach carried over into the batting, which saw Rohit Sharma retire after reaching 60 off 41 balls.
KL Rahul was the only wicket to fall, with Ashton Agar (1-14 off 2) the successful bowler.
The match has further muddied the waters over what is Australia’s best T20 line-up, which is a damming indictment on a team which has had five years to prepare for this tournament, and yet days out from the first match the best batting order remains a mystery.
Australia opens its campaign against South Africa on Saturday.
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