AUS v IND, 1st T20I: Concussion sub Yuzvendra Chahal spins India to victory
Yuzvendra Chahal, spun his magic with the ball as he played a crucial role in India’s 11 run victory over Australia in the first T20I match. Surprisingly, Chahal was not part of the initial playing 11 but came on as a concussion substitute for Ravindra Jadeja who was hit on the helmet in the first innings.
Three wickets apiece for Natarajan and Chahal as #TeamIndia take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.@yuzi_chahal is adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant figures of 3/25.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/mvq3Kl8esa
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 4, 2020
Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to field first. D Arcy Short was selected to open the innings alongside Finch in the absence of David Warner. For India, T.Natarajan made his T20I debut just two days after receiving his maiden ODI cap against Australia.
“Great chance to have a look at a few guys. Have managed workloads of the bowlers nicely so far. We’ve been playing good T20 cricket, we just have to continue that. Natarajan is making his debut today. Looked composed in the third ODI. There was a reason I went to him,” said Virat Kohli on his decision to hand Natarajan his T20I debut.
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India off to a poor start
The Indian innings did not begin on a promising note as Shikhar Dhawan was clean bowled by Mitchell Starc in the third over. Lokesh Rahul was looking in tremendous touch, finding the fence at regular intervals. Virat Kohli was caught and bowled by Mitchell Swepson in the seventh over, and the score read 2 for 51 runs at the end of seven overs.
Sanju Samson hit a quickfire 23 but was unable to convert his start into a big knock as he was sent back into the pavilion by Moises Henriques. Meanwhile, Lokesh Rahul after a lackluster performance in the ODI series, registered a half century.
Manish Pandey was dismissed by Adam Zampa in the 13th over, and the well-set, Lokesh Rahul was dismissed for 51 runs in the very next over by Moises Henriques. India were reeling at 93 runs for the loss of five wickets at the end of 14 overs, with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja at the crease.
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Ravindra Jadeja to the rescue once again
Hardik Panyda was caught by Steven Smith in the 17th over and it looked like the Indian team would not even reach a total of 150 runs. But just like the third ODI against the same opponents, Ravindra Jadeja ended with a late flurry of runs that saw India post a respectable score of 161 runs. He scored five boundaries and hit on six to guide India to a good finish.
However, Ravindra Jadeja was hit on the helmet which led to a concussion and he was also struggling with a hamstring injury. Yuzvendra Chahal took the field as the concussion substitute, and would be allowed to bowl in place of Jadeja, much to the dismay of the Australian coach, Justin Langer.
Aaron Finch and D Arcy Short give the hosts a good start
Aaron Finch and D Arcy Short looked very comfortable in the middle as they had a first wicket partnership of 56 runs before Finch was dismissed by the concussion substitute, Yuzvendra Chahal. Finch was looking in fine touch as he raced to 35 runs in just 25 balls. Still, with the required rate under control, the Australians were in firm control of the match.
D Arcy Short got a lifeline earlier, after he was put down by Virat Kohli in the seventh over at covers. Finch’s breakthrough put India right back in the match.
Yuzvendra Chahal and T.Natarajan guide India to victory
Yuzvendra Chahal picked another key wicket of Steven Smith in the tenth over after Sanju Samson picked up a brilliant catch. Glenn Maxwell was adjudged LBW in the very next over after a terrific delivery from T.Natarajan. Moises Henriques and D Arcy Short got the innings going in the right direction, by stabilizing the ship after a few quick wickets.
D Arcy Short was dismissed by T. Natarajan after he was caught by Hardik Pandya. From that moment, Australia never looked close to chasing the target and the wickets kept tumbling for the hosts. The T20I was all but over after Moises Henriques was given LBW. Australia ended the innings with a score of 150, 11 runs of short of India’s score.
Virat Kohli and his men took a crucial 1-0 lead in the three match T20I series. Yuzvendra Chahal was adjudged the man of the match for his match winning figures of three wickets for 25 runs in his four overs.