In the first T20I encounter between India and Australia on Tuesday, Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, was seen squeezing Dinesh Karthik’s neck after deciding to go for a review.
The stakes were high for India as they started their final T20I World Cup preparations since a three-match series against the reigning T20I World Champions Australia was set to begin on Tuesday.
Australia was tasked with overtaking Team India after Rohit Sharma helped them set a lofty score. As the team’s temporary opener, Cameron Green got things off to a strong start. After losing skipper Aaron Finch in the first Powerplay, ace batsman Steve Smith paired up with an on-song Green during Australia’s record-breaking run chase at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium.
Smith seemed to be in terrific form, but in the 12th over, Umesh Yadav overcame the Australian batsman and put an end to Smith’s innings. Curiously, pacer Umesh stunned Australia by dismissing Glenn Maxwell with his second strike in the same over following yet another successful Decision Review System (DRS) call.
After selecting the review, Indian captain Rohit was seen jokingly pulling Dinesh Karthik’s neck. Rohit made fun of the senior gloveman after the longtime buddy and teammate failed to request a review.
Rohit’s humorous actions on the pitch rapidly attracted a lot of attention. In contrast to Maxwell’s dismissal, Rohit’s aggressive gesture toward DK earned popularity among his fans and followers on social media right away.
Speaking of the game, Australia came back after losing superstars Maxwell and Smith in the difficult run chase thanks to the batting prowess of Matthew Wade.
Wade, who last year assisted Australia in reaching the ICC World T20 final, displayed his power hitting against Team India in the high-scoring game on Tuesday in Mohali.
Australia controlled their pursuit of 209 to win the first game of the three-match T20I series in Mohali by 4 wickets.