Player of the match: Suryakumar Yadav

Player of the series: Axar Patel

Virat Kohli (not verbatim): “That’s why I’m batting at No 3, I need to use my experience and do what the team wants. I had to take down Zampa... Surya has the game to bat in any condition, he’s been outstanding the last six months. He’s a guy who knows his game inside out and has no fear... I’ve enjoyed batting since I came back, I came to the ground an hour and a half before the team today and batted for 30 minutes. I’m enjoying my cricket.. just trying to stay in this space. ”

10.34 pm: Sams bowls it wide again and this time Hardik gets a thick outside edge that beats short-third for four. India win the series 2-1 with one ball to spare. Hardik remains unbeaten on 25 off 16.

INDIA WIN BY 6 WICKETS

IND 183/4 (19.4 overs): Dot ball! Sams bowls it wide and beats Hardik who swung hard. India need 4 off 2.

IND 183/4 (19.3 overs): DK picks a single to long-off with his first ball. India need 4 off 3.

IND 182/4 (19.2 overs): OUT! Oh dear, Kohli hits it to Finch at cover and has to walk back for a brilliant 63 off 48. Dinesh Karthik is in now and India need 5 off 4. What a finish this is to the series!

IND 182/3 (19.1 overs): SIX! Sams bowls a slower ball and Kohli uses his bottom hand to send it a long way. India need 5 off 5 now.

IND 176/3 (19 overs): Hardik played an extraordinary shot for six but Hazlewood fought back nicely by beating Kohli off consecutive deliveries. Kohli manages to pick three runs off the last two balls and India are left with 11 needed off 6.

Incredible shot by Hardik Pandya for six! 15 off 11 balls needed.

IND 166/3 (18 overs): Hardik gets an outside edge for four and India pick seven more runs in the overs thanks to singles, doubles and extras. Not a bad over that, for both teams perhaps. India now need 21 off 12. This is a fantastic, tense finish to the series.

IND 155/3 (17 overs): Another good over for Australia, this time Sams concedes just seven runs. The pressure is back on India and they need 32 off 18. Hardik has struggled so far and is batting on 8 off 8.

IND 148/3 (16 overs): Another tidy over from Green, just five runs from it. He’s been Australia’s standout player tonight – after a blazing half-century, he’s conceded just 14 runs in his three overs so far. India now need 39 off 24.

IND 146/3 15.4 (overs): FIFTY for Virat Kohli! He’s taken just 37 balls to get there. The former captain has played some scintillating shots tonight and paced his innings wonderfully. India would want him to bat till the end.

IND 143/3 (15 overs): Kohli gets the boundary India needed in the over by driving Cummins over mid-off for six. That was vintage Kohli. India now need 44 off 30.

IND 134/3 (14 overs): OUT! Hazlewood strikes as Surya hits it to long-off where Finch takes a good catch. The end of a stunning knock by the right-hander, he hit a four and a six earlier in the over and departs for 69 off 36. Kohli makes sure he pats Surya on the back before the latter walks off. The new batter is Hardik Pandya, India need 53 off 36.

IND 121/2 (12.5 overs): FIFTY for Suryakumar Yadav! And he gets there in style off 29 balls. The right-hander steps out to Zampa and flicks a low full toss for six. And he follows that up by stepping down again and driving the ball over cover this time for six. This is batting of the highest class.

IND 107/2 (12 overs): Kohli survives as he miscues a pull and it lands safely. But that was a top over from Green, just four runs from it. India now need 80 off 48.

IND 103/2 (11 overs): It seemed Cummins was going to finish off a good over for Australia but Surya pulls the last delivery for six. He’s batting with such supreme confidence at the moment and it’s a joy to watch.

IND 91/2 (10 overs): What. A. Shot! Surya has just played arguably the shot of the match. He steps out to Sams and drive it on the rise over cover for a huge six. The ball was getting big on him but he stood tall and went through with the shot... and what a shot it was. India are in a promising position at the halfway stage of their innings, they need 96 off 60.

IND 81/2 (9 overs): That is a terrific way to combine against spin. Kohli comes down the track to hit a superb six. Zampa then shortens the length to Surykumar, who plays a fabulously wristy cut shot for four.

IND 67/2 (8 overs): Two fours for Suryakumar in that Maxwell over. But there is turn and bounce later on to cramp Kohli. Interesting phase of the match this.

IND 55/2 (7 overs): A “dropped” catch. That was however smacked back by Kohli with great power, not much Zampa could have done.

IND 50/2 (6 overs): After playing and missing a big shot, Kohli plays one of the shots of the night! Picks up a leg cutter from Hazlewood, hold his shot back a microsecond and then smacks it over midwicket. Follows that up with a lofted cover drive for four. Good end to the powerplay for India.

IND 39/2 (5 overs): Kohli starts the Green over with one of the shots of the night, driving for four. But the allrounder comes back well to make it just a 5-run over. Including a peach to square up the former India captain.

India 30/2 (3.4 overs): OUT! Rohit Sharma 17(14) is gone too and India are in trouble in the powerplay. Daniel Sams takes the catch in the deep as Pat Cummins gets the Indian captain off his favourite shot.

IND 26/1 (3 overs): The Kohli cover drive for four has arrived at Hyderabad too. Zampa tosses his first delivery up and the former captain pierces the off side ring. What a shot! Rohit then gets lucky and picks up four with an outside edge.

IND 16/1 (2 overs): The Rohit pull for six has arrived at Hyderabad. It has to be one of the most pleasing sights in world cricket. Hazlewood concedes 11 runs in his first over as Zampa comes on to bowl.

IND 5/1 (1 over): OUT! Dream start with the ball for Australia! Rahul miscues a pull off Sams and Wade takes a brilliant catch with the ball swirling. He had done well to save a certain four byes down leg earlier and he’s pulled off a superb catch now. Rahul walks back for 1 off 4 as Kohli comes to the crease.

8.54 pm: The target for India is 187. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are at the crease. Who’s going to win the series? We’re ready for the chase!

8.42 pm: Harshal does well in the last over, he was hit for six off the first ball but conceded just a single off the remaining five balls. This will be a challenging total for India as the pitch isn’t exactly a belter. Australia seemed in trouble at one point but they picked up 39 runs off the 18th and 19th overs to fight back.

AUSTRALIA FINISH WITH 186/7

AUS 185/7 (19.3 overs): OUT! This time Tim David doesn’t connect and Rohit takes the catch. Harshal gets his first wicket as the right-hander walks back for 54 off 27. The new batter is Cummins but it’s Sams who is on strike.

AUS 185/6 (19.1 overs): FIFTY for Tim David! The right-hander gets his first T20I fifty off just 25 balls. He’s put Australia back on top with his big hitting.

AUS 179/6 (19 overs): Another massive over for Australia as Bumrah is hit for a six and a four, with Hardik adding four overthrows with a unnecessary, casual, wayward throw. As well as Tim David has batted, India have imploded in the last two overs.

AUS 161/6 (18 overs): Australia get the big over they were looking for and it’s Bhuvneshwar who has proven to be expensive yet again at the death. Tim David hits him for two sixes and a four and the visitors will be feeling a lot better now. One has got to question Rohit’s captaincy here. Bhuvi has struggled at the death for a while now and yet he keeps going to him despite having overs from others remaining. Hardik and Bumrah have over over left each and Harshal has three.

AUS 140/6 (17 overs): Solid over from Bumrah, just six runs from it. He kept going for the yorker and kept coming close to his mark. Australia have struggled big-time to get boundaries in the second half of this innings.

AUS 134/6 (16 overs): Sams plays a scoop for six and gets Australia a much-needed boundary. David then ends the over with a cut for four. Eleven runs came from that Hardik over as he did well to concede just a single off the remaining four balls.

AUS 123/6 (15 overs): Another tight over from Chahal and he finishes with fine figures of 1/22 from his four overs. Australia have Tim David and Daniel Sams at the crease and need some big hits.

AUS 117/6 (13.5 overs): OUT! Second wicket in the over for Axar and it’s the important one of Wade. The left-hander was brilliant for Australia in the last two games but he hits it back to Axar and has to walk back for 1 off 3 this time. The new batter is Sams.

AUS 115/5 (13.1 overs): OUT! Axar gets his second wicket as Inglis finds Rohit at point and departs for 24 off 22. The left-arm spinner has fought back nicely after being taken for boundaries by Green earlier. The new batter is Wade.

AUS 115/4 (13 overs): Harshal joins the attack and concedes 12 runs in his first over. There was a bit of a delay as the right-arm pacer got some treatment on his hand after blocking a shot in his follow through.

AUS 103/4 (12 overs): Chahal does well to concede just four runs off the first five balls but Inglis manages to end the over with a four.

AUS 95/4 (11 overs): Bumrah returns to the attack and Inglis gets an outside edge for four. Nine runs came from that over.

From 56 at the end of 4 overs, India have done well to concede just 30 more in the next 6 overs.

AUS 86/4 (10 overs): Tim David has joined Josh Inglis at the crease for Australia. The visitors need a partnership even as India continue to keep things tight.

AUS 84/4 (9.1 overs): OUT! Chahal gets in on the act and Smith is gone. The leg-spinner tosses it up slowly and bowls a wrong ’un, Smith steps out and swings but doesn’t connect and is stumped. He departs for 9 off 10.

AUS 83/3 (9 overs): A fast and accurate over by Pandya as India continue to build pressure. This is a solid fightback after the rollicking start Australia got.

AUS 75/3 (7.4 overs): OUT! Wow, we have ourselves an unusual dismissal. Axar makes amends and gets a direct hit from the deep but DK dislodges one bail with his glove before the ball hits the stumps. The third umpire, though, reckons that it is still out as just one bail had fallen and the ball hit the stumps before Maxwell got in and with the other bail still in place. Maxwell walks back livid, perhaps with himself too as his poor form continues. He made 6 off 11. The new batter is Inglis.

AUS 71/2 (7 overs): Dropped! Oh dear, Axar makes a meal of a straightforward chance at backward point. Hardik joins the attack and Smith cuts one in the air, the ball goes straight to Axar and bursts through his hands. Maxwell, meanwhile, plays three more dot balls. He’s batting on 4 off 9 now.

AUS 66/2 (6 overs): Axar bowls five consecutive dot balls to Maxwell! Good comeback by the left-arm spinner. Maxwell finishes the over with a four but India did well there towards the end of the powerplay.

AUS 62/2 (5 overs): OUT! Bhuveneshwar gets Green! The right-hander swings hard yet again but miscues it and Rahul takes the catch. India needed that wicket big-time. Green walks back for an entertaining 52 off 21 as Maxwell comes to the crease.

AUS 62/1 (4.5 overs): FIFTY for Green! He gets there in just 19 balls. The right-hander has gone after every bowler so far and played some truly powerful strokes.

AUS 56/1 (4 overs): Axar may have got a wicket but that was another solid over for Australia. Finch got four off the first ball and Green added three more boundaries. The tall right-hander has blazed his way to 49 off 18.

AUS 44/1 (3.3 overs): OUT! Axar strikes and Finch is on his way. The Australia captain attempts a slog and mistimes it, Hardik completes a good catch. Finch walks back for 7 off 6 as Steve Smith comes to the crease.

AUS 40/0 (3 overs): Big over for Australia! And it’s Bumrah who is taken to the cleaners this time. Green hits more than he misses in this over and picks two sixes and a four. He has raced to 37 off 15. India under pressure.

AUS 23/0 (2 overs): Axar takes the new ball from the other end and is cut by Green for two fours. The left-arm spinner dropped it short both times and got the treatment. Green, meanwhile, ends the over with another swing-and-miss. He’s going incredibly hard.

AUS 12/0 (1 over): Well, that was an interesting first over all right. Green starts off with a slog that takes the edge and goes over cover for two. He then hits one a long way for six on the leg side before cutting the next ball for four. But the over ends with three wild swings-and-misses as Bhuvneshwar fights back.

7.30 pm: The players have taken the field and we are ready for play. Cameron Green and Aaron Finch are at the crease for Australia. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the new ball in hand for India. Here we go!

Playing XIs

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Matthew Wade (w), Daniel Sams, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (w), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

One change for Australia: Josh Inglis returns to the playing XI in place of Sean Abbott.

One change for India: Bhuvneshwar Kumar replaces Rishabh Pant. “That was always going to be the case,” says Rohit. “In the last game we wanted an extra batter because it was a shortened contest.”

TOSS: Rohit Sharma has won another toss and India will field first again.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the third T20 International between India and Australia in Hyderabad.

After going down in the first T20I of the three-match series, India fought back in the second game in Nagpur. With a wet outfield leading to an eight-overs-per-side game, Rohit Sharma and Co went on to register an impressive victory as the skipper led the way. Now, the Men in Blue will be determined to complete the comeback and close out the series against the reigning world champions in the shortest format. India didn’t get the result they wanted at the Asia Cup and a series win against Australia will provide some confidence building up to the T20 World Cup.

Squads

India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (w), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Deepak Hooda.

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (w), Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Kane Richardson, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Daniel Sams.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy bcci.tv / Disney+Hotstar