Matthew Wade, the Australian keeper-batter, stated that he would like to develop the habit of driving his team to victory by finishing games. Wade, who batted at number 7 and raced to a quick 45* off just 21 balls on Tuesday (September 20), was crucial to Australia's victory over India in the first T20I in Mohali.
India scored a daunting 208/6 in 20 overs owing to an incredible performance from Hardik Pandya, who blasted 71* off just 30 balls, and a glittering half-century from KL Rahul.
But the visitors, owing to Wade’s heroics with the bat and him sharing a match-defining 62-run partnership with Tim David chased down the total with 4 balls to spare.
The southpaw stated that David’s presence in the middle allowed him to take time to get settled.
“I would like to make it a habit (of finishing games). It has been a nice 12-18 months, started to put some scores together and put a partnership with Tim David today, he has come down the order with those (finishing) roles. It is nice to get some youth and power like him which gives me time to start,” Wade was quoted as saying after the match.
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“At this ground, it didn't worry too much (to get going from the first ball), anywhere between 10-14 runs per over with wickets in hand we could probably chase it down, obviously the guys at the top of order got us off to a great start. If it gets to 13 runs per over early on then there's a bit of panic but towards the end with a wicket like this and outfield like this you kinda back yourself,” he added.
Wade hailed Cameron Green, who gave the Kangaroos a strong start by hitting a blistering 61 off just 30 balls, his first in T20Is.
“Green was always going to open, it was nice to see him come out and do that. He is a really exciting all-rounder and he will play a role with the ball as well. There were some crucial roles through that (early) period and Smith played really well to keep the pressure up,” he remarked.
The 2nd T20I will be played on Friday (September 23) in Nagpur.
(STAR SPORTS INPUTS)
