India thump Australia to take 2-1 lead in T20I series

GOLD COAST, Australia, Nov 06 (AFP): India took a 2-1 lead in their T20 series against Australia with a 48-run demolition of the home side on Queensland's Gold Coast on Thursday.
After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, India reached 167-8 thanks to a well-made 46 from Shubman Gill and useful contributions from Abhishek Sharma (28) and Shivam Dube (22). India's bowlers then took centre stage, bundling Australia out for 119, with off-spinner Washington Sundar taking 3-3 in just eight balls to finish off the match. "I thought 167 was par on that wicket," Australian captain Mitchell Marsh said. "But batting was pretty hard -- we had a few partnerships but we just couldn't get the big one that would give us momentum going into the back end of the innings." India would have gone into the innings break hoping for a bigger score than 167 but the total proved too much for the Australians, who started brightly but fell away alarmingly after reaching 67-1 in the ninth over.
The visitors will now head to Brisbane on Sunday hoping to clinch the five-match series after the opening game in Canberra was washed out.