Visitors India are off to a booming start, as they tamed hosts Australia in the first Twenty20 International (T20I), at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, on Friday. While Virat Kohli and co walked away with an 11-run win, it did have a mild controversy.
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The match saw India using their first-ever concussion substitute, as all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was replaced by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. However, Australian head coach Justin Langer felt otherwise, as the former was also struggling with a hamstring niggle.
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Nonetheless, Kohli was delighted with the win, as he thanked the substitute rule for the same. "There were no plans of having Yuzi (Chahal) in the game. Jaddu (Jadeja) got a knock on the side of the head and was a bit dizzy and still is. Concussion replacements are a strange thing, today it worked for us, maybe another time, he wouldn't have found a like-for-like," he said following the match.
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"He (Chahal) came in and bowled really well. The pitch offered him enough. Yuzi showed character to squeeze the opponents. I thought they had a great start. They were cruising. The batters offered us a few wickets. That is T20 cricket for you," added Kohli.
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"In Australia, you need to play hard and show intensity till the end. He (Jadeja) batted beautifully in the last game. Natarajan looks like he can improve a lot. (Deepak) Chahar bowled well as well. Chahal got us back in the game. Hardik's catch was a game-changer as well," Kohli further appended.
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Speaking on the same, Australian skipper, Aaron Finch, said, "Their doctor had ruled Jadeja out with concussion and you can't be challenging a medical expert's opinion in that regard. We probably leaked a few too many runs at the end and then in the middle phase struggled to hit boundaries."
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Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson, too, agreed that Jadeja was indeed feeling dizzy after a knock on his head while batting, compelling the side to go for the substitute. "He got hit on the helmet in the last over (off Mitchell Starc) and when he came back to the dressing room, he was asked by the physio (Nitin Patel) how he felt. He (Jadeja) said that he was feeling a little dizzy. He is under observation as per team doctor's (Dr Abhijit Salvi) advice. I don't know how Jaddu bhai is feeling, as the physio is taking care of that," he stated.
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Furthermore, Chahal was happy to be back with a bang, following a tough outing in the ODIs. He is coming off a terrific performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL), having finished as Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) highest wicket-taker.
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"There was no pressure for me when we were batting and then, suddenly, I got to know I was going to play. I have played so many games, so I was mentally fit. I learnt from my ODI mistake. In ODIs, I flighted the ball a lot, but here, I just saw the way Zampa bowled, I tried to do the same as well. It was a little harder to score in the first innings. 150-160 is a good score on this wicket. I bowled according to my plans," Chahal reckoned.
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