Nail-Biter in Vizag! Australia Pip India in Low-Scoring 1st T20I

Who says T20 cricket is all about high-scoring belters? A cracking start to Australia’s limited overs tour of India.

Glenn Maxwell hit a 43-ball 56 in Australia’s 3-wicket win over India in the first T20I at Visakhapatnam.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/cricket.com.au)

• Australia beat India by 3 wickets after a last-ball finish in the T20I series opener at Visakhapatnam.
• Australia pip India in a low-scoring thriller to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
• India: 126/7 (KL Rahul 50, MS Dhoni 29*, Nathan Coulter-Nile 3/26)
• Australia: 127/7 (Glenn Maxwell 56, D’Arcy Short 37, Jasprit Bumrah 3/16)

A profligate Umesh Yadav undid all the good work done by Jasprit Bumrah as Australia edged out India by three wickets in a last-ball thriller in the first T20 International at Visakhapatnam on Sunday, 2 February.

With 14 required off the last over, Umesh was hit for a boundary each by Jhye Richardson and Pat Cummins, who had identical scores of 7 not out as they reached the target of 127 off the last delivery of the match.

This was after Jasprit Bumrah (3/16 in 4 overs) bowled an incredible 19th over to bring India back in the match just when it was looking that Australia would canter home.

Jasprit Bumrah’s stupendous 19th over – where he conceded two runs, and took two wickets – went in vain as India lost the first T20I against Australia at Visakhapatnam.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/BCCI)

He got Peter Handscomb with a short ball and then yorked Nathan Coulter-Nile after having dismissed Aaron Finch in his first spell.

However, Australia’s tail-enders held their nerve in a tense finish, getting the required couple of runs off the final delivery of the game.

Australia’s Near-Tank

Till the 15th over, Australia were in cruise control mode as Glenn Maxwell (56 off 43 balls) and Darcy Short (37 off 37 balls) added 84 runs for the third wicket to almost seal the match.

India’s wrist spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal (1/28 in overs) and debutant Mayank Markande (0/31 in 4 overs) couldn’t make much of an impact on Maxwell, who blasted both for towering sixes.

But things changed when Chahal finally got Maxwell with a flighted delivery wide outside the off-stump and the batsman failed to clear KL Rahul at long-off.

Short was run-out after a mix-up with Peter Handscomb and after Ashton Turner was removed by Krunal Pandya, Australia were in a spot of bother at 102 for 5.

But Richardson and Cummins kept their calm to give Australia a 1-0 lead going into the second and final game in Bengaluru on 27 February.

Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson (left), batting at eight and nine, held their nerve to take Australia over the line in the first T20I against India at Visakhapatnam.(Photo: AP)

Rahul Returns, as Does India’s ‘Problem’

Opener Rahul’s half-century on comeback laid the platform for a sizeable total after India had been asked to bat, but inexplicable batting in the second half saw the hosts restricted to a paltry 126/7 in their 20 overs.

Back in the senior team after a near two-month wilderness for his controversial appearance on Koffee With Karan, Rahul showed why he has held the team’s backing all along in a stroke-filled 36-ball 50, but some indiscreet shot selection from his teammates put his efforts to waste.

Having been strongly-placed at 69/1 in 8.3 overs, India contrived to hurtle to 100/6 at the end of the 15th – and managed a mere 46 runs off the last 10 overs, for the loss of four wickets.

KL Rahul, making his first India appearance since the ‘Koffee’ controversy, scored a fluent 36-ball 50 in the first T20I against Australia at Visakhapatnam.(Photo: AP)

MS Dhoni played one of his now all-too-familiar dogged innings to stem the rot, but was once again guilty of playing out a few too many dot balls, as he finished unbeaten on 29 off 37 balls.

Dhoni’s strike rate, at 78.37, was the second-lowest for any Indian batsman in a T20I innings of 35 or more balls.

Nathan Coulter-Nile (second from right) is congratulated by teammates after the fall of a wicket during the first T20I between India and Australia at Visakhapatnam.(Photo: AP)

For Australia, Nathan Coulter-Nile was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/26 off his four overs. Returning from an injury that kept him out of the reverse series against India at home, the seasoned fast bowler claimed the vital wickets of Rahul and Dinesh Karthik in the same over, and followed it up with the removal of Krunal Pandya.

Brief Scores: India 126/7 (KL Rahul 50, MS Dhoni 29*, Nathan Coulter-Nile 3/26, Jason Behrendorff 1/16) lost to Australia 127/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Maxwell 56, D’Arcy Short 37, Jasprit Bumrah 3/16, Krunal Pandya 1/17) by 3 wickets.

(With inputs from PTI)