That is all from me (Rajarshi Majumdar) and IBTimes India edition. Will see you soon and till then have a good Sunday and stay healhty!
India are now the NO. 1 team in the world in the ICC T20 rankings! Australia have slipped down to 8th. India were in the 7th position prior to this series.
And the Indian team lifts the KFC T20 series trophy! Smiles all around.
Dhoni credits the bowlers for the turnaround.
Shane Watson gets the player of the match for his terriffic hundred, a wicket and a catch.
Virat Kohli is the player of the series! What a player.
5:20: India have won a scintillating game of cricket here at the Sydney Cricket Ground. They have completed a whitewash here against Australia in the T20 series. It was a mountainous run chase.
Suresh Raina played a match-winning knock of 49 runs from just 25 balls. He kept his nerves, kept his calm and smashed one over that cover point fielder for a boundary. Boyce will be thinking that he could have had Raina when he just came out to bat but Bancroft missed it. Raina has done that so many times in the past for Chennai Super Kings and for India as well.
Yuvraj Singh was struggling right from the start of this innings. When he took the single off the last ball of the 19th over, everybody might have thought this game is well and truly over for India. But how crucial were those hits from Yuvraj! That brought India back into the game right away. Vintage Yuvraj Singh that was.
None of the Australian bowlers other than Boyce could make an impact on this game. Tremendous shot playing from all the Indian batsmen.
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got India off to a flier and that helped the rest of the batsmen to finish things off in style.
A terrific series win indeed!
What a run chase! India have won the game by 7 runs.
Raina smashed one over the point fielder for a boundary. What an innings Suresh Raina has played here. How crucial was that six and a four from Yuvi in the last over.
2 from the last ball needed.
good runnings, a bye. India need 6 from 3.
SIX from YUVI! Boy India is back in the game. 7 from 4 now.
Four from the first ball.
This is a tough ask for Yuvraj who is clearly struggling. Can he do it?
Just 5 runs came from that Watson over. India need 17 from the last 6 balls. India 181/3 in 19 overs.
18 from 7 now.
India need 20 from the last 8 deliveries.
Watson has bowle a brilliant over so far. Just 2 runs from the first four balls.
Yuvraj Singh is struggling out there in the middle. He has to get off strike immediately.
5:00: Tye has bowled an excellent over under this circumstances. Even Raina was not able to hit those balls now. More the 34,000 people are on the edge of their seats as we are set for an exciting finish. India has to go for those boundaries now, Raina scored 12 runs from that over. However he was lucky enough. India 176/3 in 18 overs. 22 from 12 needed.
4:55: Yuvraj Singh has not faced one ball before this innings and here he is with a task up his sleeve now. He cannot afford to waste a single ball out there. The best thing he can do is to give strike to Raina who has been finding those gaps cheekily. It looks like Watson and Tye will finish things off with the ball here at the SCG. 8 runs came from that Watson over. India 164/3 in 17 overs. 34 needed from 18 balls.
Watson is back into the attack and Raina dragged fine for a four down to fine leg boundary.
42 from 24 balls. Can they do it?
4:49: This match is going to the wire. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh will look to guide India home but it is not going to be easy. He is gallopped to 22 from just 11 balls. 10 runs came from that Tye over. India need another 42 from the last four overs. India 156/3 in 16 overs.
Yuvraj Singh is out in the middle now for the first time in the series. He has a big task in his hands now.
Kohli has been dismissed! Weird dismissal. Australia got the wicket they needed. India 147/3. Boyce is the man to pick that wicket up.
Kohli welcomed Boyce with a boundary in the first ball of his last over. Kohli's intentions are clear. Kohli has reached yet another half-century. Boy! he is in some form. Cover driving of top draw. What an innings!
4:39: Shaun Tait has been bowled out here. He has been the most expensive bowler so far but his last two overs has yielded 14 runs. Meanwhile, Suresh Raina has started to find the boundaries at the other end. India 139/2 in 14 overs. 59 more needed from 36 balls.
4:35: This is turning out to be a potential match-winning spell from Boyce. Rohit tried to flick one over the mid wicket fielder but ended up scooping it to Shane Watson. He could also pick up up the wicket of Raina but Bancroft missed the chance of stumping and Raina smashed one out of the park the next ball. India 130/2 in 13 overs. 68 more needed from 42 balls.
Rohit Sharma is GONE! Boyce picks him up.
4:30: The last over of Maxwell produced 10 runs as it was decorated by a massive six from Rohit Sharma over the square leg boundary. Australia were enjoying a nice little spell without any boundaries but Rohit has broken free here. He has reached his half century and he reached that landmark in just 35 balls. Boland has proven to be very expensive as well. The required run rate has come below 9.5 now. Things are not looking good for the hosts. Last two overs have produced 20 runs all of a sudden. India 122/1 in 12 overs. 76 more needed.
4:21: Shaun Tait is back into the attack trying to break this partnership. He will look to forget his last over which produced 24 runs. Someone has to break this partnership. Rohit was lucky enough not to have timed one that dropped short of the long on fielder. Things have slowed down a bit in the last two overs. 100 comes up for India in the 10th over. India 102/1 in 10 overs. 96 more needed in 60 balls.
4:18: Cameron Boyce has bowled well out here. He has been the most economical bowler amongst the Australian bowlers. Just 5 runs came from that over and the 50 partnership comes up in 36 balls between these two. India 96/1 in 9 overs. 102 more needed.
4:13: India are doing it easily. 10 runs came from that Shane Watson's over. If Australia continue to leak runs in this manner then India are clearly looking at that 3-0 result at the end of this match. India. 91/1 in 8 overs. 107 more needed.
4:09: Virat Kohli has just gone past 5000 runs in the T20 format (both franchise and International). If these two are their till the 15th over then the game will be well and truly over before 20 overs. Cameron Boyce was given the ball but he too was unable to break this pair. 7 runs came from that over. India 81/1 in 7 overs.
4:05: It did not make much of a difference for Australia because the kind of form Virat Kohli is in, he will keep hitting the ball out of the park with his eyes closed as well. 12 runs came from that Tye over. The powerplay overs are done and India have gallopped to 74 runs. What a start! India 74/1 in 6 overs. 124 more needed.
Andrew Tye is into the attack here! Can he deliver for Australia?
4:01: India will look to capitalise on this start that they are off to. They are going at more than 12 runs per over. Boland's last over yielded 13 runs. Poor over from Boland. Rohit is equally dangerous and Australia should not forget that. India 62/1 in 5 overs. 136 more needed.
3:55: Take a bow Shane Watson! First impact with the bat and now with the ball. He removed Dhawan who was extremely dangerous from the second ball of his over. Dhawan has already done the damage and has given just the kind of start India were looking for. They are cruising at the moment even if they have lost one wicket here. India 49/1 in 4 overs.
GONE! Huge Wicket! Dhawan is OUT. India 46/1.
Dhawan is on fire here! Yet another boundary from the first ball of Watson's over.
3:50: India are off to a good start here. These two will have to build that platform so that rest of the Indian batsmen can finish things off in style. Just the kind of start India wanted. Australian bowlers are leaking boundaries here. Tait has been taken to the cleaners here at the SCG. Both Dhawan and Rohit have started hitting the ball out of the middle of their willows. This is good stuff. Awful over from Tait and Australia's perspective. 24 runs came from that over. India 42/0 in 3 overs. 156 more needed.
3:44: This run chase is going to be a good challenge for both sides here. There's a lot of depth in the Indian batting line up and they are capable of getting those runs. Aussie bowlers will have to be right on the money. They cant give freebies to these Indian batsmen early on in the innings. India 18/0 in 2 overs. 180 more needed.
Boland will share the new ball with Tait.
3:38: India need almost 10 runs an over from here to get over the line. At least two boundaries needs to be hit in every over. This is not as big a ground like Melbourne Cricket Ground. If Australia wants to threat India with pace then Tait cannot afford to be wayward upfront with the new ball. India 7/0 in 1over. 191 more needed.
Boundary from the third ball. Class from Rohit.
Here's the first ball from Tait and yorker straight away. Blocked well by Rohit.
Here are the Indian openers. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. They will have to get off to a flier.
What do you think guys, can India get to that target and complete a series sweep?
Don't go anywhere ladies and gentlemen, stay tuned for further updates. The run chase will begin in sometime!
3:18: Watson has played a captain's knock. 124 runs from just 71 balls is the highest by any Australian in Australia in this format of the game.
The bowlers were taken to the cleaners completely as Watson was hitting everybody. That drop catch from Virat Kohli proved to be rather costly.
The partnership between Watson and Travis Head proved to be very crucial. They added 93 runs in tandem. That helped Watson to play his natural game.
Kohli will look to make up for that drop catch when India will begin that run chase.
This is going to be one heck of a run chase. It will need a herculean effort from Indian batsmen in order to reach that target.
2 more runs added from the last ball. Australia finish on 197/5 at the end of 20 0vers.
2 runs added.
Six runs have come from the first four balls of this over.
OUT! Lynn is Gone. Dot ball and a wicket. What an outstanding catch from Jadeja.
Boundary from Lynn's bat. Missed the yorker and ends up being a full toss.
One more added to the score.
Single from thf irst ball. Good yorker from Bumrah.
3:08: Eight runs came from that Bumrah over. It was a superb over. Now Nehra has bowled well here. Both the seamers have bowled that york length extremely well. Australia are inching closer to that 200-run mark. Australia 187/4 in 19 overs. Six more balls to be bowled.
2:59: Jadeja has dismissed Travis Head here! Australia 168/4 in 17 overs. Three more overs to be bowled after this and 200 is on the cards.
Century for Shane Watson. What an innings he has played here at the SCG under pressure. He definitely got a lot of assistance from the Indian bowlers. Huge over that was for Australia as 19 runs came from that. Freebies for Watson. Poor bowling from Jadeja. Watson is dealing in sixes here!
2:55: Watson is eyeing that big century here. A fact: Watson's average batting at No.1 is above 33 compared to his other position. And it has been proven yet again here at the SCG. 8 runs came from Ashwin's last over. Australia 149/3 in 16 overs.
2:52: Sloppy from Jadeja that was. Bowled a juicy full toss in that over and Watson does not miss out on those. The long on fielder watched it sail over his head. Hardik Pandya saved four runs as the ball was going for a six he timed his jumped perfectly and slapped the ball back into the ground. 14 runs came from that Jadeja over. Australia 141/3 in 15 overs. 5 more overs left!
2:48: Just as I was saying, Ashwin was brought back into the attack. 9 runs came from that over. No boundary was scored in that over though. Head and Watson are leading the charge here. 50 partnership came up between the two. Australia 127/3 in 14 overs.
2:44: Kohli has dropped Watson! Oh dear, he does not miss many bt he has missed this one. It was not easy though. Poor bowling from Pandya as he is bowling full tosses to Watson. How costly will that catch be. Watson can hurt India bad here. Dhoni will have to find other alternatives here as Pandya's bowling is not helping India. May be give another over to Ashwin and Jadeja each. Yet another good over for Australia. 15 runs came from that. Australia 118/3 in 13 overs.
2:37: Yuvraj Singh continued with his slow left-armers. The first ball almost produced a run out with a terriffic throw from Jadeja but Watson was home luckily. You never take on the arm of Jadeja for sure. Watson will have to be careful about that as he is not one of the fastest runners between the wickets. Meanwhile Head is making a move and India cannot allow the youngster to get away. That was an expensive over from Yuvi. 14 runs came from it. Australia 103/3 in 12 overs.
2:34: Hardik Pandya was brought into the attack. 50 came up for Shane Watson in just 37 balls. This has been a very good innings from Watto. If Australia will want to put up a good total, Watson has to bat through. He has looked solid so far. Pandya will have to careful about his line and length. Head can also be destructive if given room outside the off stump. Australia 89/3 in 11 overs.
2:29: One just cannot keep Yuvi out of the game. that was a huge wicket for India. Yuvi had dismissed Maxwell in the last game as well and he has done it again here. The spinners are doing it for India again, the wickets have started tumbling for Australia. Travis Head is out in the middle now. Halfway through the innings. Australia 80/3 in 10 overs.
First ball from YUVRAJ and he is picked up the wicket of MAXWELL! Good catch from Raina in the short cover
2:24: Jadeja has been economical. The first six overs have always belonged to Australia and thereafter they seemed to have lost their way in all the matches. They need to be careful about that. The spinners are tightening the screws here for India. Just 3 runs came from that Jadeja over. Australia 75/2 in 9 overs.
2:22: Marsh was looking to heave one over the short mid-wicket boundary but Ashwin went straight through the gate. Big wicket for India. Maxwell is out in the middle now. That was a good over from India's point of view as it produced the wicket of Shaun Marsh. Australia 72/2 in 8 overs.
BOWLED! Ashwin knocks Shaun Marsh over. Australia 69/2.
2:17: Spin from both ends now. Dhoni has thrown the ball to Jadeja. India need to break this partnership here. Especially, the wicket of Watson. Jadeja and Ashwin will look to slow down things for India as Australia are going at a run rate 9 per over. 6 runs came from that Jadeja over. Australia 63/1 in 7 overs.
2:14: It is but obvious that Watson is more effectove at the top of the order than in the middle. He is clearly more confident opening the batting. Ashwin also turned out to be expensive in his first over. Australia are off to a rolicking start here. The powerplay overs are done. The field can spread now. Australia 57/1 in 6 overs.
Ashwin is into the attack!
2:09: Ashish Nehra too gave away 11 runs in his 3rd over of his spell. Australia are off to a good start now despite losing Khawaja early on in the innings. Watson is looking dangerous here at the SCG. Australia 48/1 in 5 overs.
2:04: Watson will look to break the shackles here as the powerplay overs will last for 6 overs only. He will look to take advantage of that fielding restrictons. Bumrah has been expensive unlike Nehra. Yet again he has been unable to hit the right line and length. Bumrah bowled two no-balls in that over and that gave Watson to free his arms and smash him for a couple of boundaries on those two no-balls. That was a good over from Australia's perspective. 13 runs came from that Bumrah over. Australia 37/1 in 4 overs.
1:59: Khawaja was looking extremely dangerous as he raced off to 14 from just 5 balls before he edged one to MS Dhoni behind the stumps. It was good low catch taken by the India skipper. This has been a superb spell from Ashish Nehra. But India should be wary of the fact that Australia bat deep. Australia 24/ 1 in 3 overs.
HUGE BLOW! Khawaja is GONE! Ashish Nehra picks him up. Australia 16/1.
1:55: Khawaja is continuing to play his shots. It shows how confident he is at this moment. This is yet again a good start for him. Khawaja has done it for the Sydney Thunder and he is here to do the same for his nation. 15 runs came from that over. Australia 16/0 in 2 overs.
1:49: Ashish Nehra has bowled a very good over here. The ball is moving quite a bit after hitting the deck. Watson has not looked comfortable so far. He has pushed himself up the order so that he can play his natural game. Australia 1/0 in 1 over.
Here is the first ball and Khawaja straight away off the mark!
Ashish Nehra with the new ball!
Usman Khawaja and Shane Watson will open the batting for Australia.
The players are walking out in the middle. The stage is set for the last riveting encounter. are you ready folks?
Here are the playing XI's for you ladies and gentleman:
Australia have won the toss and will bat first!
The toss is on its way guys, dont go anywhere!
Australia on the other hand will have to make a number of forced changes. Shane Watson will be leading the side as Aaron Finch sustained a hamstring injury during the second T20 of the series.
Cameron Bancroft will also replace Matthew Wade, who has left for New Zealand. John Hastings have also left for ODI series against Black Caps. Shaun Tait will be replacing him.
India have already won the T20 series and MS Dhoni might just experiment with his squad. HArdik Pandya may just make way for the veteran Harbhajan Singh for the final T20 of the series against the weakened Aussies.
This is Rajarshi Majudmar and I will be bringing the live updates of the action from 3rd T20!
Good afternoon ladies and gentleman! Hello and welcome to the live blog coverage and updates of the third T20 between India and Australia, which is being held at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Sunday.
