Welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of the 1st T20I between India and Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association’s IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
IND vs AUS COMMENTARY
WHAT THEY SAID
AUSTRALIA INNINGS
AUS 211/6 in 19.2 overs: Australia needs 2 to win in 6 balls. Chahal to Green, OUT! Straight to the long-off fielder. A close-in field in setting for Cummins. He rocks to the backfoot and pushes the ball through cover for FOUR - Australia records its highest T20I chase against India.
Rohit’s losing streak
Tim David c Pandya b Chahal 18 (14b 1x4 1x6)
AUS 207/5 in 19 overs: Bhuvneshwar starts with another wide down leg. Two singles to follow as Bhuvneshwar lands a couple of deliveries in the blockhole. A leg-bye to follow. Low full-toss and Wade creams it through cover for FOUR. Short ball and Wade pumps it over mid-wicket for FOUR. FOUR more as Bhuvneshwar errs on length again. Wade hammers it across the line for FOUR. Wade has ended the contest with a series of boundaries.
AUS 191/5 in 18 overs: Harshal fends short and Wade charges the ball and swats it over backward square for SIX. Slower-ball and Wade slaps it straight back to Harshal who drops the catch. Length from Harshal and David dismisses it over cow corner for another SIX! David drives the next ball down the ground for a single. Slower-ball again and Wade slams it over square-leg for SIX more! 22 from the over.
AUS 169/5 in 17 overs: Bhvuneshwar is back. He begins with two wides down leg. Bhuvneshwar overpitches and Wade glides it past point for FOUR. David nudges another fuller delivery down to square leg for a single. Low full toss and Wade slams the ball past point for FOUR. Another wide from Bhuvneshwar before Wade retains strike with assingle - 15 from the over.
AUS 154/5 in 16 overs: Harshal Patel returns. He confounds Wade with his deceptive slower-balls across varying lines. Short ball and Wade swivels to bisect square-leg and fine leg for FOUR. Harshal sprays one diagonally across the line and Wade fails to connect with a slog directed over mid-on. The pressure mounts on Australia with Harshal conceding just six runs in the over.
AUS 148/5 in 15 overs: Axar to Inglis, OUT! Cleaned him up. Axar maintains a tight line as Inglis shuffles across for a slog-sweep and misses. Massive wicket for India as Aussies are five down with Wade coming in at 6. David gets a single. Axar wafts one in and beats Wade’s outside-edge. Top figures for Axar as he bowls out at 4-0-17-3.
Josh Inglis b AR Patel 17 (10b 3x4)
AUS 145/4 in 14 overs: Hardik strays to the pads and David flicks it past backward square for FOUR. Short from Hardik and David quickly swats it across and Kohli’s electric dive saves two runs at the square-leg fence. Off-cutter from Hardik and Inglis cuts the ball past the keeper and wide slip for FOUR.
AUS 134/4 in 13 overs: Chahal returns. Tim David gets a single before Inglis reverse-sweeps off length for a FOUR over point. Shoddy length from Chahal as Inglis swipes the ball through mid-wicket for another FOUR.
AUS 123/4 in 12 overs: Umesh Yadav returns. Wowzaa, Smudge. He preempts a scoop shot and connects it for SIX over the keeper. Short and wide and Smith places it past point for FOUR. OUT? The Indians are excited as Smith shuffles across the line but changes his mind to slice a ball in the blockhole past the keeper and sends it straight to Karthik. OUT! Steve Smith has to go. Josh Inglis in at 5. He gets off the mark for a single. Slower-bouncer from Umesh and Maxwella attempts to cut and the ball flies to Karthik. Loud appeal from Umesh and Rohit joins in as Karthik remains silent. Rohit is livid with Karthik who does not go up for a shout. The umpires opt for a review and well, well, there is a spike on the UltraEdge! Maxwell falls. Two wickets in the over for Umesh Yadav!
Steve Smith c †Karthik b UT Yadav 35 (24b 3x4 1x6); Glenn Maxwell c †Karthik b UT Yadav 1 (3b)
AUS 112/2 in 11 overs: Axar to Green, OUT! High into the night sky and Virat Kohli latches onto a superb catch at long-on. A sensational knock comes to an end as another danger man, Glenn Maxwell, walks in at 4. Maxwell is off the mark with a single. Axar floats one in and beats Smith as he attempts a sweep shot.
Cameron Green c Kohli b AR Patel 61 (30b 8x4 4x6)
AUS 109/1 in 10 overs: Hardik starts with a couple of slower balls. Length from Hardik and Green pummels the ball over mid-wicket for a massive SIX! Massive headaches for Rohit as we enter the Drinks break.
AUS 99/1 in 9 overs: Axar returns. Smith sweeps a ball to square-leg from well outside the off-stump. Green attempts a sweep but is beaten on length. A reverse-sweep trickles down to short third-man. A singe to follow. IN THE AIR and KL Rahul drops Steve Smith at long-off! A tame chip from Smith as KL Rahul runs in to spill a sitter. And Green piles the misery on the bowler with a thumping SIX over long-on.
AUS 90/1 in 8 overs: It is raining boundaries in Mohali. Axar has just dropped a sitter at deep midwicket! Oh, it keeps getting worse for India. Short and top-edged to the boundary now. Green on 47 off 21, has just registered his highest score in T20Is. The fifty-run stand is up, with Green scoring 30 of those runs.
AUS 79/1 in 7 overs: 97 METRES! Green has dispatched Chahal over deep square leg. Another six... slog-swept over deep midwicket. Four more... this time Green has swept it to the rope at fine leg.
AUS 60/1 in 6 overs: Smith shimmies down to cart it over the head of Harshal to mid-off. Wide ball down the leg again. Pulled it behind square, Green has been in fine touch tonight.
AUS 48/1 in 5 overs: Spinners to operate in tandem. Chahal into the attack. Wide, Chahal has sprayed one down leg. Green gets a boundary through the offside.
AUS 40/1 in 4 overs: Spin has been introduced from one end. Axar to bowl. Finch plays for the turn, misses all of it and the stumps light up. Smith is in.
AUS 38/0 in 3 overs: Edged and wide! The outswinger balloons away to the fence. Finch wouldn’t mind. The ball’s been served up and Finch has battered this towards backward point. And again! Finch takes the aerial route and this has flown to third man as well. Australia is off to a flying start in the PowerPlay.
AUS 24/0 in 2 overs: Umesh’s first four balls have been thwacked by Green for fours. Sending him as an opener has worked thus far. The last ball has been hit hard as well but it has been stopped in its tracks at mid-off.
AUS 8/0 in 1 over: Out of form, who? Finch has just played the shot of the day for a six off the very first ball. Bowled full and outside off, Finch has lofted this over long-off. There is a bit of miscommunication between the fielders at point and cover - Rahul and Kohli - as they both let it pass. Freebie runs for the Aussies as Kohli does a bit of extra running.
TARGET: AUSTRALIA NEEDS 209 TO WIN
INDIA INNINGS
IND 208/6 in 20 overs: Hardik skies a short delivery but it lands safely. The all-rounder seems to be in a bit of discomfort as he seems to cramp up. But wait... scratch that... WHAT DISCOMFORT? THREE SIXES ON THE TROT FOR HARDIK... MY, OH, MY... He finishes with 71 off 30 balls. This is now India’s highest T20I score against Australia. Not just that, this is also Pandya’s highest T20I score.
IND 187/6 in 19 overs:Finch signals the T as the on-field umpire doesn’t seem to be too interested in a loud LBW appeal for Karthik’s wicket. Three reds... although it seemed to be going down leg at one point. DK goes for 6. Harshal walks in and smashes one through cover for four. It’s a fifty for Hardik off only 25 balls, his second in T20Is. He get to the mark with a flamboyant stroke to deep backward point.
IND 176/5 in 18 overs: Hardik’s strong bottom hand comes into play once again as he blasts Cummins out of the ground. Another low full toss and Hardik’s dug this one out to drill it down the track again. Four! Cummins’ economy up to 11.75.
IND 160/5 in 17 overs: Down leg... The unpire’s called it wide. Hardik gets the toe-edge of the bat and it goes for a boundary down third man. Low full toss and Hazlewood has been punished as Hardik whips it straight down the ground.
IND 148/5 in 16 overs: Eliis pitches it wide and Hardik reaches out to guide the ball through the third man region. Axar holes out to Green at long-off in an effort to up the ante. Dinesh Karthik is in.
IND 141/4 in 15 overs: Karthik has been held back to counter the death bowling again. Wham! Axar with a beautiful straight drive past Cummins. Hardik has slapped one through extra cover now. Not a good day with the ball for Cummins, who has gone for more than 10 runs an over.
IND 131/4 in 14 overs: Back of a length from Green and it is Hardik who gets to smoke it over deep mid-wicket this time. GONE! Suryakumar has been caught behind while trying to poke one over the third man region. He falls four short of a half-century. Axar is the new man in.
IND 119/3 in 13 overs: Suryakumar’s had had enough. After Zampa concedes four singles, he bludgeons an 84m six over long on. He gets down on one knee and goes again... this time it has been launched towards deep midwicket.
IND 103/3 in 12 overs: Hazlewood returns. Rahul drives the first ball down to long-on for a single. Tucked into the pads and Suryakumar nonchalantly flicks the ball over wide long-on for six. In the air and dropped at long-on. Maxwell fails to latch onto a tough catch as Rahul smacks a short ball down the ground. The ball deflects off him and goes for four. Hazlewood to KL Rahul, OUT! Flicks straight to the square-leg fielder.
IND 91/2 in 11 overs: Zampa loops one into the blockhole and Rahul works it down to long-on for a single. Zampa keeps it full and straight. Suryakumar and Rahul continue to pick the gaps for singles. Rahul pushes the last ball to cover and gets hisFIFTY off 32 balls.
IND 86/2 in 10 overs: Ellis returns. A couple of singles to start the over before Ellis fends one down leg for a wide. Ellis goes full and wide. Surya slashes it through point for two runs. Ellis drops a slower bouncer and Suryakumar fails to unleash the upper-cut. A couple of singles to follow as we enter Drinks.
IND 78/2 in 9 overs: Zampa drops one short and Rahul muscles it across the line but finds the mid-wicket fielder. Four singles on the trot in the over. In the slot and Rahul unleashes the slog-sweep for a massive six over deep mid-wicket.
IND 69/2 in 8 overs: Green replaces Cummins. Back-to-back boundaries from Rahul as Green pitches both these deliveries way up the track. The first one has been whipped over fine leg. The second one’s been muscled through extra cover.
IND 56/2 in 7 overs: Zampa bowls a wide down leg. Maxwell doesn’t put in a dive near the rope as Suryakumar gets another four through mid-wicket.
IND 46/2 in 6 overs: Rahul passes on the strike to Suryakumar with a single. Overpitched and Suryakumar has creamed it through cover for four. A six now... Cummins pitches this short and Suryakumar goes for a helicopter-ish swing over his head. Very much the shot of a batter in control.
IND 35/2 in 5 overs: Ellis strays down leg, and it’s been called a wide. Bowls a slower one next and Kohli dabs it down gully. Kohli, looking to clear the infield, has hit the fuller delivery straight to Green at mid-on. The wry smile is back. Suryakumar Yadav’s in at 4.
IND 30/1 in 4 overs: Spin has been introduced - Zampa to bowl his first. Kohli gets off the mark with a single to long-on. Shouts of “Catch!” as Rahul slices one through sweeper cover for four.
IND 25/1 in 3 overs: Rohit welcomes Hazlewood with a monstrous maximum! Steps out, gets underneath the pitch of the delivery and clobbers it into the stands. OUT! Rohit goes for the wristy lofted shot over the leg side again but finds Ellis on this occasion. A leading edge off Rahul’s bat runs down to the third man fence.
IND 14/0 in 2 overs: Cummins to share the new ball. Bowled into the pads and Rohit has wristed this over fine leg. Cummins bounces back with a terrific delivery, forcing Rohit to hang his bat in the line. Four! Rohit has stretched his arms to whack it square.
IND 4/0 in 1 over: Hazlewood to open the bowling. Rahul takes strike, with Rohit for company at the other end. Rahul’s off the mark. There is some late movement on the ball as Rohit faces his first. The Indian captain is fortunate it didn’t take the leading edge. Woah... close! This one seams just past Rahul’s blade, who thankfully doesn’t look to fish.
6:54PM IST: Rohit Sharma leads the Indian cricket team out in the middle. They are in their new ‘One Blue’ kits. Time for the national anthems.
IND vs AUS PLAYING XI
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
WHAT THEY SAID
“We’re going to have a bowl. It is about building up to the World Cup. Hopefully some dew comes out. The pitch looks hard and flat. We have one change from out earlier XI.”Aaron FinchAustralia captain
“It is an opportunity to test ourselves. Every game is a big game to learn. This series will be no different for us to express ourselves. Looking at what happened in the Asia Cup, we had a chance to reflect on where we went wrong. Nothing changes in terms of our approach. Unfortunately, there are some injuries in the squad. Jasprit Bumrah is not playing, he will take a game’s break and probably come back in the second and the third game. We have Axar and Chahal. Pant misses out.”Rohit SharmaIndia captain
TOSS
IND vs AUS PITCH REPORT
“We have an even covering of grass. It is hard, not going to turn very much. There is, however, bounce for the fast bowlers. It is a big ground. It is a chasing night,” reckons Matthew Hayden.
IND vs AUS PREDICTED PLAYING XI
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Josh Inglis, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, Tim David, Cameron Green, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
IND vs AUS DREAM11 FANTASY TEAM PREDICTION
Wicketkeeper: Dinesh Karthik
Batters: Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David
All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Hardik Pandya, Cameron Green
Bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Jasprit Bumrah
Team Composition: IND 6:5 AUS | Credits left: 13.0
IND vs AUS MATCH PREVIEW
The three-match T20I series against Australia that begins at the PCA stadium here on Tuesday offers the Indians yet another chance to show their T20 skills at home. Having already played 25 T20Is in 2022, the team will have played six more by the time it enters the all-important T20 World Cup in Australia.
The challenge against world champion Australia could be steeper than some of the others had been. Both teams are full of T20 stars, but with a marquee event around the corner, neither team would give undue weightage to the results.
“ I’m pretty keen to play quite a lot so that come the World Cup I feel like my game is in really good order. That World Cup is the time we want to be peaking so I think we’ll find that balance between making sure we’re ready but not overcooked going to the start of the World Cup.”Pat Cummins
India would be hoping to determine its bowling combination for the T20 World Cup. The ineffectiveness of the bowlers during the Powerplay overs as well as the death overs of the Asia Cup contributed to the team’s underwhelming performance.
The team management will rely on Jasprit Bumrah – he returns to the team after being out of the Asia Cup because of injury. Umesh Yadav, who was called as a replacement for Mohammed Shami will also be expected to plug the holes during those crucial overs.
Yuzvendra Chahal was a star of IPL 2022 for Rajasthan Royal, but he blows hot and cold. If he is among the wickets again, it would do his confidence a world of good. Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh also excelled in the IPL this year, but they aren’t yet reliable performers against the best teams. For them, the series would help in building a reputation. Deepak Chahar would be keen to be in the thick of the action, too, after having played just a single match in the Asia Cup.
If Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah and Umesh outshine their less-experienced counterparts, the team management may be forced to change its strategy and rely more on these seasoned bowlers for World Cup glory.
Redoubtable
Australia may be without some of its best T20 players – David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Starc – but it packs a punch all right. Steve Smith has been in good form of late in One-Day Internationals and Tests, and in the absence of Marsh, is likely to occupy the No. 3 slot, as indicated by captain Aaron Finch.
Hot new prospect Tim David, a Mumbai Indians star, could figure in the playing XI. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa, like Smith, shone in the recent Chappell-Hadlee Trophy and has adequate experience of subcontinental conditions. The Sri Lankans found Josh Hazlewood, an IPL regular, too hot to handle in the T20I series at home in June, so he, too, can be a handful.
IPL experience of most members of the Australian team evens the scales. In June, the South Africans profited from it to draw the five-match series against the odds. There is no reason why Australia can’t do it despite not fielding its best XI. The weather would be to the team’s liking, too: it’s not very hot at this time of the year.
“For us, when we try and do something new, it doesn’t mean that is permanent. We understand the quality of all the players and what they bring to us. We do understand that, but yeah it is an option for us. We will keep that in mind that since we haven’t taken a third opener, he can obviously open. He opens for his franchise and has done really well. It is a definite option for us.”Rohit Sharma
Finch felt the pitch here had grass and he knows the venue is known for its pace and bounce. Expect seamers from both teams to make an impact with the new ball. Both teams could field three fast bowlers.
Finch, now without his 50-over duties, will want to be enjoying the occasion. He nearly topped the run charts in Australia’s last T20I assignment – a three-match series against Sri Lanka – so there’s nothing to suggest the India series might be his last for Australia if he’s not among the runs.
“I’m not putting an end date on anything T20-related yet. It’s still exciting; I love touring this country, I love touring with the Australian team,” said Finch earlier today.
- Abhishek Mukherjee
IND vs AUS HEAD-TO-HEAD
India and Australia have faced each other in 23 T20Is. India has won 13 of these, while Australia has won nine. One match ended without a result.
IND vs AUS SQUADS
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH IND vs AUS?
The first T20I between India and Australia will be aired LIVE on the Star Sports Network at 7 PM IST on Tuesday. The match will also be available for live streaming on Disney+ Hotstar app.
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