This is one series that has been much-awaited by both countries. After a fiercely contested tour down under recently, it was Australia’s turn to head over to India for 2 T20Is and 5 ODIs, which will turn out to be much needed preparation before the all-important 2019 ICC World Cup. Today, the first game of this home series turned out to be a thriller as Australia eventually won off the final ball by 3 wickets.
The 1st T20I kicked off at 7pm today evening at Vizag and Australia made the right decision to bowl first on a pitch which was expected to highly assist the spinners. Because of this, India went on to play three specialist spinners, including handing out an international debut to Mayank Markhande. For Australia, Peter Handscomb made his T20I debut.
Apart from Rohit Sharma playing an outrageous shot early on to be dismissed for 5(8), India made a brisk start thanks to Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. The Indian captain played a few rash shots that looked like he was trying to get a move on, which isn’t always his style of play. It was only a matter of time before he gave away his wicket, finishing with 24(17) after holding out to Nathan Coulter-Nile at long on. Rahul however, went on to complete a fine fifty, but lost his wicket soon later, ending with 50(36).
At a stage where India seemed set to get a score of 160+, they lost a flurry of wickets. Pant for 3, Pandya for 1 and Karthik also for 1. Once again, it was India’s anchor MS Dhoni who had to bat with the tail and ensure India at least had the chance to bat out 20 overs. India finished with 126/7 and MSD remained unbeaten on 29 in 37 deliveries.
It was going to be an easy chase for the Aussies but India began really well with the ball, reducing the away team to 5/2 within the first couple of overs. Glenn Maxwell and D’Arcy Short steadied the ship from there on with an 84-run partnership, with the former taking the game away with a well-made 56(43).
Dinesh Karthik batting 1st in T20Is:
11
0
6
16
13
48
5*
13
13*
2*
1
11 inngs; Runs 130; Avg 16.25#INDvAUS— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) February 24, 2019
Just when the Indian shoulders started drooping and the crowds went silent, India managed three quick wickets which raised the noise levels in the crowds again. Suddenly, it was 16 to get in 12 balls, which was still Australia’s game by a long way, but India had put bucket loads on pressure on the Aussies by then.
MSD and Kohli had to use their bowlers well, and they threw the ball to Jasprit Bumrah who bowled three on the trot up front. The 19th over was his final one and as usual, he produced a magnificent result for India, giving away just 2 runs, including the wickets of Peter Handscomb and Coulter-Nile. He proved why he is the best death-overs specialist in the world, leaving Umesh Yadav with 14 runs to defend in the final over.
Dhoni's motto these days, when the top order collapses.
"Something is better than nothing"#INDvAUS
— Gabbbar (@GabbbarSingh) February 24, 2019
A thriller is what we can call this. Yadav bowled well but both of Jhye Richardson and Pat Cummins hit a boundary each, leaving 2 to get off the final ball. Both batsmen slid into their respective creases as the throw came in wide from the deep, allowing the two to complete the second run and giving Australia a 1-0 lead in the T20I series. Kohli did not look a happy man after that final ball. MOM: Nathan Coulter-Nile – 3/26.
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