Australia pulled off a stunning run chase to register a convincing four-wicket victory over India in the first T20I at IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Tuesday (September 20).
Invited to bat first, the hosts piled up a massive 208/6 in their 20 overs on the back of Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 71 off 30 balls. KL Rahul (55 off 35 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (46 off 25 balls) also made notable contributions with the bat.
Amid the carnage, Nathan Ellis returned with impressive bowling figures for Australia, claiming three wickets by conceding 30 runs in his four overs.
In reply, the visitors overhauled the target in 19.2 overs. While Cameron Green led the foundation with a blazing knock of 30-ball 61 at the top, Matthew Wade (45* off 21 balls) produced a gem of an innings in the slog overs to take Australia over the finishing line.
It was a listless bowling display from the Men in Blue. Barring Akshar Patel (3-17), all the Indian bowlers were taken to the cleaners. In particular, the Aussie batters were severe on Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0-52) and Harshal Patel (0-49) as they aggregated 101 runs from their eight overs.
With this victory, Aaron Finch and company took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.
Cricket experts on Twitter lauded the Australian team for their terrific chase and were critical of India’s bowling performance.
Here are the reactions:
