IND vs AUS 2022-23, Mohali T20I: Green's spectacle gives Australia opening lead; netizens upset

It was not the ideal start for Team India in the opening Twenty20 International (T20I) against Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday. The Men in Blue fell short by four wickets, with Aussie opener Cameron Green playing a deadly innings of 61 off just 30 deliveries, which included eight fours and four sixes at a lethal strike rate of 203.33 to sink the former. As the Australians go up 1-0 in the three-match series, the Indians would hopefully bounce back in the remaining two games. However, the netizens were undoubtedly hurt by this loss.

Winning the toss, Australian skipper Aaron Finch invited the Indians to bat first, while the hosts did not have pacer Jasprit Bumrah and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. The Men in Blue were off to a high-strung start, losing Rohit Sharma (11) and Virat Kohli (2) by the fifth over of the Powerplay.

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However, opener KL Rahul (55) and Suryakumar Yadav (46) tightened the screw and contributed to a 68-run stand for the third wicket, which somewhat put pressure on the Aussie bowlers. As Rahul scored his 18th T20I half-century, he was the third wicket to fall in the 12th to pacer Josh Hazlewood, while India was down to 146/5 by the 16th.

Thereon, Hardik Pandya (71*) and Dinesh Karthik (6) added 30 for the sixth wicket before the latter fell to pacer Nathan Ellis in the 19th. As the former struck his second T20I 50, he hammered three sixes in the final over off medium-pacer Green to allow India to post a hefty total of 208/6.

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For Australia, Ellis grabbed three and was also very economical. In reply, the visitors were off to a decent start, with Green (61) coming out to open alongside Finch (22), as the former looked in an explosive touch, while the latter was the first to be dismissed, with leg-spinner Axar Patel cleaning him up in the fourth, following a 39-run stand.

However, a 70-run partnership for the second wicket ensued between Green and Steven Smith (35), as the former also hit his maiden T20I half-century before Axar sent him packing in the 11th. At the same time, the Indians bounced back with some quick wickets as the Australians reeled at 145/5.

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Nevertheless, a 62-run stand ensued between Tim David (18), who was making his Australia debut tonight, and wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade (45*), as the two hammered the Indian bowlers all over the park in the death overs to take the game away from the hosts. Although Chahal got rid of David in the final over, it was too late.

All the visitors needed was a couple of runs in the over, with Pat Cummins hitting the winning four and winning with four balls to spare. It was also Australia's highest successful chase in the format in India. For the Indians, Axar scalped three and was the most economical in the whole game.
Brief scores: IND 208/6 (Rahul- 55, Suryakumar- 46, Pandya- 71*; Ellis- 3/30) lost to AUS 211/6 in 19.2 overs (Green- 61, Smith- 35, Wade- 45*; Axar- 3/17) by five wickets.