IND vs AUS 2022-23, Hyderabad T20I: Kohli-Yadav exhibition hands India series win; netizens triumphant
India eclipsed Australia by six wickets in the final T20I in Hyderabad on Sunday, winning the three-match series 2-1. Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav put on a magical batting display, while netizens became triumphant.
FollowIt was another thrilling Twenty20 International cricket action between India and Australia. Playing the third and final T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday, the hosts got the job done and pulled off a nail-biting six-wicket win to win the series 2-1. With this series win, skipper Rohit Sharma remains unbeaten in T20I series wins, besides maintaining its top spot in the ICC T20I Rankings. Former skipper and top-order batter Virat Kohli was the game's star alongside middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav, while netizens went berserk and were in a triumphant mood.
Winning the toss, Rohit chose to field, making a change in the XI, bringing in senior seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in place of young Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. However, the visitors were off to a fiery start, thanks to Cameron Green's (52) quickfire. At the same time, he and Aaron Finch (7) contributed 44 for the opening wicket before the latter departed to leg-spinner Axar Patel in the fourth over of the Powerplay.
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While Green struck his second T20I half-century, the fastest T20I 50 against India, he fell to Bhuvneshwar in the fifth, 18 runs later. Australia lost a couple of quick wickets thereon and was down to 84/4 by the tenth before Josh Inglis (24) and Tim David (54) added 31 for the fifth wicket, while the former fell to Axar in the 14th.
From 117/6 in the 14th, David and Daniel Sams (28*) contributed 68 runs for the seventh wickets, with the former going slam-bang and bringing up his fourth T20I half-century and his first playing for the Aussies. While he was dismissed by pacer Harshal Patel in the final over, Australia managed an above-par total of 186/7.
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For the Indians, while Axar clutched three, fellow leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was duly economical, whereas pacer Jasprit Bumrah conceded over 50, the most by him in a T20I. In reply, the Men in Blue lost KL Rahul (1) in the opening over to pacer Sams with just five runs on the board. While they were 30/2 by the fourth, Kohli (63) and Yadav (69) added 104 for the third wicket to keep the hosts within the chase.
While Yadav brought up his seventh T20I 50, pacer Josh Hazlewood got his prized wicket in the 14th. At this time, Kohli struck his 33rd T20I half-century and, along with Hardik Pandya (25*), added 48 for the fourth wicket. With 11 needed off the final six balls, Sams got rid of him after he had smashed the opening ball for a six.
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Nevertheless, Pandya got the job done, hitting the winning four, as India won by six wickets with a ball to spare. For the Australians, Sams seized a couple, while medium-pacer Green was perfectly economical. With this victory, Rohit is the second most T20I Indian winner as captain (33).
Brief scores: AUS 186/7 (Green- 52, David- 54; Axar- 3/33) lost to IND 187/4 in 19.5 overs (Kohli- 63, Yadav- 69; Sams- 2/33) by six wickets.
