Brilliant innings from Matthew Wade (45*) and a maiden T20I half-century from Cameron Green helped Australia win the first T20I of the three-match series against India at Mohali on September 20th.
Wade, in particular, was key to Australia's victory as he came at a time when Australia was 145/5 and needed another 64 runs in merely 29 balls to chase down the 209-run target.
Former India pacer Ashish Nehra who coached the IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans and worked extensively with Wade who played for GT, talked about Wade's batting strategy and compared his outings for Australia with his performance for GT in IPL 2022.
“Matthew Wade struggled through the entire season. He opened, he batted at 3, but when he plays for Australia, he plays at 5 or 6. I remember the T20 World Cup last year when he smashed Shaheen Afridi for two sixes.
You wouldn't be surprised to see Cameron Green playing at 5-6. Similarly, you also wouldn't have been surprised if Wade had opened for Australia. That's the thing with batting order in T20s. It's just about what clicks for a player and when. For Wade, when he dons the Aussie colors and plays lower down the order, he uses that experience well,” Nehra said on Cricbuzz.
Nehra said while Green laid the foundation for the Australian team, it was Wade who played a crucial role in eventually steering them home.
He said: “Today, he played that lap shot or play through midwicket. But the 1-2 shots he played today, once against Harshal Patel where he waited for a slower ball and smashed it towards square leg.. that comes from experience. Green had laid the foundation for Australia's win, but you needed someone who could provide a strong finish. It seemed even if the target was 218, Wade would've steered them to win.”
