Virat Kohli, spinners shine as India beats Australia
An unbeaten 90 from Virat Kohli and impressive performances from the spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja helped India register a thirty seven-run victory over Australia in the first Twenty 20 match of the three-match series at Adelaide on Tuesday.
Brief Scores: India 188/3 in 20 overs (Kohli 90*(71), Raina 41(34), Watson 2/24) beat Australia 151 all out in 20 overs (Finch 44(33), Bumrah 3/23, Jadeja 2/21, Ashwin 2/28) by 37 runs
After a disappointing 1-4 loss in the ODI series, India got off to the perfect start in the T20 series with both the batsmen and spinners coming to the party. Similar to the ODI series, the batting looked in full flow and helped India notch up a defendable 188, but it was the spin duo of Jadeja and Ashwin that changed the match after Australia seemed set for another successful chase at one point.
Chasing 189, the hosts got off to the perfect start with Warner and Finch taking Nehra and Ashwin for plenty in the first few overs. With the Aussies going at more than ten per over, Dhoni brought on Jasprit Bumrah into the attack, and the youngster delivered for the captain first with a tidy three-run over and then returned to send back Warner for 17 in his second over.
However, the runs continued to flow with debutant Hardik Pandya gifting 5 wides in a horrible 19-run first over. Jadeja struck in the next over to remove Steve Smith for 21 with a leading edge carrying to Kohli at extra cover. Kohli also gave Smith a fierce send-off for the chirping he received during his innings. Ashwin followed Jadeja with a wicket in the next over by trapping Finch in front of the wicket for 44.
Wickets continued to tumble for the hosts with the spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja bowling in tandem. Travis Head and Watson followed their predecessors back to the dressing room as Australia looked down the barrel at 110/5 in 14 overs. Needing more than 12 runs per over in the last six overs, the hosts never recovered from losing four wickets for 21 runs and slowly drifted towards an inevitable loss.
With the Aussies struggling, Hardik Pandya plucked his maiden wicket by sending back Chris Lynn and added another to his tally in the next over by taking the wicket of Wade. The hosts finally folded up for 151 to give the Men in Blue a thirty seven-run victory in the first Twenty20.Â
Earlier, Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to field on a fast and bouncy pitch at the Adelaide. The hosts handed a debut to Travis Head and also brought back Shane Watson, Shaun Tait and Chris Lynn after impressive performances in the Big Bash League. On the Indian side, veterans Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Ashish Nehra made a return to the XI, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was handed a debut.
Shaun Tait made his return to the national team fold with a 150kph first ball beating Rohit Sharma outside the off-stump. However, Rohit was not cowed as he dispatched Tait for 21 runs in two overs. With the hosts dropping sitters, Rohit looked set for another big innings before Shane Watson struck with his first delivery. A slow off-cutter from Watson was driven straight into the lap of mid-on by the Mumbai cricketer to end his brisk 31-run knock. Four balls later, India was two down with Dhawan ending his sorry stay at the crease by guiding Watson’s slow bouncer into the hands of Wade.
With wickets falling in quick succession, India’s run rate dipped from 10 to the 8-run mark as Kohli and Raina moved the innings forward with singles and twos. Kohli upped the scoring rate as the match progressed and took India past the hundred-run mark in the 13th over. With Raina struggling at the other end, Kohli took charge of the innings and went after the bowling to keep the run rate above eight. The duo added 134 runs for the third wicket with Kohli dominating the partnership with 88 runs.
Raina departed for 41 off 34 balls in the last over, and Dhoni walked in next to send the crowd into raptures with a six over long on. The helicopter shot was followed by another boundary from Captain Cool to make it 10 runs off two balls. India added three more runs to the score in the last two balls to finish at 188/3. A total of 60 runs came in the last five overs as India upped the scoring rate above nine to put up a defendable score. Â