Abhishek Sharma (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: India will breathe a little easier heading into the third T20I in Hobart, as Australia’s pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood will skip the remainder of the series. The right-arm quick, who played a key role in Australia’s four-wicket win in Melbourne, will now turn his attention to domestic cricket to prepare for the upcoming Ashes series, beginning November 21 in Perth.“Heading home tomorrow. I’ll have a week to prepare for the Shield game against Victoria, then we head to Perth for the first Test. It’s important to get that red ball rhythm in, bowl consecutive overs, spend big days in the field – tick that off before the Test season starts,” Hazlewood said after his match-winning display in the second T20I at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.Hazlewood’s absence will certainly be a relief for Indian batters, who found him unplayable under lights. His spell of 3 for 13 dismantled India’s top order and set up Australia’s victory. Sent in to bat first, India could only manage 125 all out in 18.4 overs, with Abhishek Sharma (68 off 37) standing tall amid the collapse.After the match, Abhishek addressed the media, where an Australian reporter informed him that Hazlewood would not feature in the remaining games.“Oh, is he? I didn’t know that! But obviously, he’s good enough to play all formats. Still, I enjoyed the challenge because, as a batter, you have to face world-class bowlers — and that’s exactly what I was trying to do,” Abhishek said.Watch the video hereReflecting on the experience of facing Hazlewood, Abhishek admitted he was taken aback by the seamer’s precision. “I think, as a batter, I was watching him during the ODIs as well, so we knew he was going to challenge us and make things difficult. But honestly, the way he bowled today even surprised me — I haven’t seen something like that in T20s before,” he said.With Mitchell Marsh’s quickfire 46 and Travis Head’s 28, Australia eased home with 40 balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The third T20I will be played in Hobart on Sunday.