Australia defeated India in the first T20 International by a margin of four wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. With four balls left, the Kangaroos managed to eke out a victory with Cameron Green’s blazing performance and Matthew Wade’s unbeaten 45 off 21 balls.
Hardik Pandya (71 not out) and KL Rahul (55), who both blasted slamming half-centuries, helped India reach 208/6 in 20 overs earlier when Australia’s captain Aaron Finch chose to field first. Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah were not in the Indian playing XI.
India defeated Australia in 20 overs with a score of 208/6. (Hardik Pandya was 71 not out and KL Rahul was 55; Nathan Elis took three wickets and Josh Hazlewood two).
Australia scored 211/6 in 19.2 overs (Cameron Green had 61, while Matthew Wade was still alive and scoring at 45).
If Wade is not to be put into Harshal’s bowling…
When Harshal Patel lost 22 runs in the 18th over, he stood there scratching his chin. He might have been rubbing his head. Will Harshal succeed in Australia then? If the first T20 in Mohali gives us any indications, he will need to make a few adjustments to his playing style. His specialty is the slower ball, which he pings down on the track and causes the slow pitch to practically hold the ball up, as they say, to throw off the batsman’s downward swing and timing.
However, not on Australian bounce pitches like these belters. He was attempting to pass the ball to Matthew Wade when he noticed that it had been returned from the deep square boundary. Even his slower full ones, the off-breakish sort, typically require the pitch to grip and break to disrupt the batsman’s shot. Here, it floats and skids, and Tim David hit it long-on. For the T20 World Cup last year, Harshal Patel might have been a natural bowler. He didn’t make up the squad. He will need to make a few adjustments to step up and play at the T20 World in Australia later this month. He can play if the pitches in the upcoming two T20s turn out to be slower.