Bowlers Star as India Beat Australia by 9 in rain-hit first T-20I
NEW DELHI :It was a damp squib of a match, in more ways than one. Australia looked woefully out of their depth from the very first over of the match and the way Davide Warner was dismissed was only a sign of things to come. Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch provided some stability to the visitors but Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav tightened the noose and Australia choked.
Yuzvendra Chahal got Glenn Maxwell one again while Kuldeep and Bumrah pretty much did the rest with some help from Hardik Pandya and a Virat Kohli direct hit. The rains then kept both teams out of the field for a long time and India were left to chase 48 off 6 overs. Rohit Sharma got down to business immediately but was dismissed after making a quickfire 11. Kohli then saw it through with support from Shikhar Dhawan.
Chasing a revised target of 48 in 6 overs after Australia scored 118 for 8 in 18.4 overs, India reached the target in 5.3 overs. After losing Rohit Sharma (11) early in the run-chase, India skipper Virat Kohli once again came to the party as he took India home with 3 balls to spare. Shikhar Dhawan, making his comeback into the side, remained unbeaten on 15 as the hosts went past revised target without too much trouble. India lead the three-match series 1-0.
Opting to bowl first, Australia never really got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals throughout their innings. For the visitors, Aaron Finch (42) was the only one who looked threatening at the top of the order but with little help coming from the middle-order, the Aussies were struggling at 118 for 8 when rain interrupted play.
Kuldeep Yadav was again the pick of the bowlers for India, returning with figures of 2 for 16 while Jaspreet Bumrah showed his class in the death over by bowling yorkers at will that helped him to get rid of Tim Paine and Nathan Coulter-Nile towards the end of the innings. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up a wicket apiece, putting India in a commanding position in the first of the three-match T20I series.
Australia 118/8 in 18.4 overs (Aaron Finch 42, Kuldeep Yadav 2/16, Jasprit Bumrah 2/17) India (target 48 in 6 overs) 49/1 in 5.3 overs (Virat Kohli 22 not out).( With Agency Inputs ).
