Team India suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia in the third T20I in Guwahati on Tuesday (November 28) despite posting 222/3 on the board.
Riding on Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden T20I ton (123* off 57), the hosts racked up a gigantic total. However, the Aussies chased it down courtesy of Glenn Maxwell’s whirlwind hundred (104* off 48 balls).
In the chase, Australia were reeling at 134/5 in the 14th over but Maxwell and skipper Matthew Wade (28* off 16) forged an unbeaten 91-run partnership to take the visitors home.
With 43 needed off 12 balls, Wade smashed Akshar Patel for 22 runs in the penultimate over. In the final over, Prasidh Krishna was tasked to defend 21 runs but Maxwell was on a rampage as he slammed one six and four boundaries to seal the deal on the last delivery.
After the game, Gaikwad defended Krishna and other Indian bowlers, saying that dew-laden conditions made the job difficult for them in the second innings.
The Australian batters were particularly severe on Prasidh Krishna as the right-arm quick conceded 68 runs in his four overs – the worst performance by any Indian bowler in T20Is.
"I don't think so it's a concern because it's almost like you are bowling with a wet ball. And it's really tough on them," Gaikwad said in the post-match press conference.
"In these kinds of conditions, 12 runs per over or even 13 or 14 runs per over is gettable, even while we are chasing, In the first game, how easily we managed to chase 210," he added.
"So I think, I don't think so definitely there's not a concern at all. It's just that the conditions are slightly tougher for them, and we have to accept and move on."
Gaikwad praised Maxwell for his counter-attacking century, which kept Australia alive in the five-match T20I series.
"I think even Maxi batted really well. To win from a situation where they needed 100 from seven and a half hours and then 50 from 3 overs, I think it was critical innings for him," Gaikwad said.
"And I think from our side, our bowlers tried executing whatever they had in their control. Also, there was a lot of dew around so ball was slipping a lot. So I think it was tough for the bowlers as well.
"Even though we scored 230, in the last game, it was still in between we felt the game might go till the last over, but this kind of dew it is these totals are bound to happen and bound to chase."
Opening the innings, Gaikwad started off cautiously after the hosts were invited to bat first. At one stage, the right-hander was batting on 21 off 21 balls but he unleashed his repertoire of stokes in the last 10 overs to notch up his three-figure mark in just 52 balls.
"Initially, I felt pitch was slightly tacky, ball was stopping a little bit and there was some movement in the air and off the pitch as well. So first, I felt 2-3 overs, the wicket was like that, and we lost two wickets (Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan) in a span of one over. So it was important that we stitched a partnership. And then after 7-8 overs, I think the wicket got slightly better."
Raipur will host the penultimate T20I between India and Australia on Friday (December 1).
(With PTI Inputs)
