VISAKHAPATNAM: The relatively inexperienced Indian bowling got the stick, but the batters stood up and made it count with skipper Suryakumar Yadav leading from the front as the hosts carved up a nail-biting two-wicket victory over Australia in the first of the five T20Is at the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Stadium, here on Thursday night.
There was drama plenty as India needed seven runs to win in the last over with five wickets in hand but pacer Sean Abbott had other ideas. Rinku Singh got a four and a single but India lost three wickets in the next three balls to make it an edge of the seat encounter. Rinku (28no), however, struck the next ball – which incidentally was ruled a no-ball- for a six to settle the issue.
With most of the seniors from both sides rested, it was left to the young guns to showcase their potential and liven up the night in a game which went down to the wire. It was a bold and fearless cricket from the youngsters which made up for the absence of the top stars. If it was Josh Inglis (110) who stole the show in the first half of the evening with a sparkling century, then it was SKY (80) and Ishan Kishan (58) who showed that they are game for any challenge with robust half-centuries. But in the end, it was the final over bowled by Mukesh Kumar, in which he gave away only 5 runs, that made all the difference.
Asked to bat first, Australia, who rested World Cup heroes Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa, had enough fireworks in their arsenal as they cruised to 208 for three. But the bowlers did not match the effort as their erratic line made things easy for the Indian batters. The 12 wides that the Australians conceded compounded their woes on the field.
The Indians took up the challenge and began their chase with a flourish as Yashasvi Jaiswal struck Marcus Stoinis for a boundary and a six but Ruturaj Gaikwad (0), was unfortunately run out off the fifth ball. Yashasvi (21; 8b; 2×4, 2×6) too didn’t last long as he was snapped up by Smith off Matthew Short.
SKY joined Ishan Kishan and the duo went after the Australian attack. The Indian skipper rode his luck but Kishan was rock solid and struck some lethal blows. They added 112 for the third wicket to set the house on fire. Kishan struck five huge sixes and two fours in his 39-ball 58. In the process, Kishan got his fifth T20I half-century. SKY went on to get his 16th half-century before he fell for a 42-ball 80 (9×4, 4×6).
Earlier, Inglis, gave glimpses of his immense potential as he struck his maiden century – in his 13th T20I game – to the delight of the crowd. His sparkling 110 came off just 50 balls with 11 hits to the fence and eight over it. Some of the shots were so well executed that even Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav was left amazed.
Being asked to bat first by SKY, the Australians made good use of the opportunity. Though Matthew Short fell (13) with 31 on the board, veteran campaigner Steve Smith, who opened the innings, and Inglis put the relatively inexperienced Indian attack to the sword.
After two dot balls, Smith struck Arshdeep Singh for a boundary and that set the tone for the rest of the innings. In between leggie Ravi Bishnoi threatened to trouble the Aussies but the three chances that he missed cost the Indians dear.
In his first over and the fifth of the innings, he failed to latch onto a return catch offered by Smith (15). Later in his second over and the 9th of the innings, he failed to collect a sharp return at the bowler’s end with Inglis (36) well out of the crease. Bishnoi had another miss in the 18th over when he dropped Marcus Stoinis off a Prasidh Krishna delivery.
There was no looking back as the Aussie duo went on the rampage – particularly Inglis. Neither the pacers nor the spinners made any impression on Inglis as he scored at will. With Smith playing the second fiddle gleefully, Inglis brooked no stopping as he pulled out different shots from his cap.
Smith joined the party in the 16th over as he struck Mukesh Kumar for two boundaries to bring up his 5th T20I half-century. The Indians, however, had the much-needed stroke of luck as Smith (52), who slipped while playing a shot, was run out at the non-striker’s end.
Inglis followed soon but Stoinis (7) and Tim David (19) helped the side cross the 200-run mark. Pacer Mukesh Kumar’s last over yielded just five runs as he was the pick of the bowlers, conceding 29 in his four overs.
