Home
India lost the first T20I of the three-match series against Australia in Mohali despite posting a mountainous 209-run target which the visitors chased down with four wickets to spare.
Team India's bowling looked in utter lurch as once again their death overs frailty which is costing them the match came to the fore.
Even India's lead bowlers of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/52), Yuvvendra Chahal (1/42) and Harshal Patel (0/49) leaked runs heavily as Aaron Finch-led Australia made the mockery of India's bowling.
Notably, Axar Patel took three wickets while Umesh Yadav also made two important scalps on his return to the T20I team but their efforts went in vain.
Meanwhile, former India star pacer RP Singh has issued warning to Team India ahead of upcoming T20 World Cup while giving a strong statement as he said the Men in Blue's performance is dipping considerably.
"These aren't great signs ahead of the T20 World Cup. When we didn't do well at the Asia Cup, we thought it was because we didn't have Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah. Harshal Patel was there in the side for this game, but we still ended up on the losing side. It is also possible that even Jasprit Bumrah will be taken to the cleaners if he returns for the next two games," Singh said on Cricbuzz.
"So, we shouldn't expect our star player to return from injury and win the games. The management will have to utilise the players available because we are losing the games eventually. The performance of the Indian team is dipping as we get closer to the World Cup," he further added.
Singh also said that India bowlers never dominated in the match as the Australians kept on blitzing them left, right and centre.
"There was never a period during the Australian run chase where India were able to dominate. Australia kept on hitting boundaries at regular intervals while also taking singles consistently. Apart from that Umesh Yadav's over where he picked up two wickets, there wasn't a single over where the Indian bowlers made an impact. It isn't a matter of skill, but maybe they weren't able to execute their plan well," Singh added.
With the India bowling unit under the scanner once again, Singh said that the management will have to make changes going forward.
"Also, when you are bowling wide yorkers, you can't afford to have the point and the third man inside the circle. They will have to make major changes. Otherwise, India won't be in the game at all if they have to defend a target of 150," he added.
Team India and Australia will play the second T20I in Nagpur on Friday as the visitor's lead the series 1-0.
India's squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (Captain), Steven Smith, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Daniel Sams, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglis, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis.
