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Suryakumar Yadav on his T20I captaincy debut tried to heal the wounds of the World Cup 2023 final with his 80-run knock to lead India to a two-wicket win over Matthew Wade-led Australia. Wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis’ record-breaking maiden T20I century went in vain as India recorded their highest run chase against Australia in the format. After Suryakumar’s 80-run knock, Rinku Singh provided the finishing touches as the hosts got over the line in a nail-biting affair in Visakhapatnam.
Earlier, Suryakumar won the toss and opted to field first. Opening the innings, Smith got off the mark with a boundary. Arshdeep Singh was impressive with the new ball conceding just seven runs from three overs. Suryakumar introduced spinners from the fourth over. Ravi Bishnoi in the fifth over got the wicket of Matthew Short. He got bowled for an 11-ball 13. Inglis got off the mark with a boundary. After powerplay overs, Australia had 40/1 on the board.
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Inglis targetted Prasidh Krishna in the eighth over. He hit a scintillating back foot punch for a six. Krishna conceded 19 runs from the over. At the halfway mark, Australia were 83/1. In the 12th over, Inglis reached his half-century from 29 balls with a six off Bishnoi. He hit two sixes and a four in Bishnoi's third over. Bishnoi's last over was expensive as well with Inglis hitting him for three sixes. In the 16th over, Smith hit Mukesh Kumar for two fours to reach his maiden T20I fifty as an opener. Next ball, he tried to play a scoop shot and lost his balance. Inglis rushed for a single but Smith could not recover and reach the non-striker's end as he got run out. Smith scored 52 runs from 41 balls including eight fours.
In the 17th over, Inglis hit Arshdeep for four fours. He reached his century from just 47 balls, the joint-fastest for Australia. He also became the first wicketkeeper to hit a T20I century against India. In the next over, Krishna got his wicket. He scored 110 runs from 50 balls featuring 11 fours and eight sixes. Tim David hit two fours and a six to get Australia's score past 200. In the final over, Mukesh kept David and Marcus Stoinis quiet despite bowling a no ball. He conceded just five runs as Australia posted 208/3 on the board.
Yashasvi Jaiswal took on Stoinis right from the start of the run chase. He started off with a boundary and then hit a six. On the fifth ball, Ruturaj Gaikwad after a terrible mix-up with his opening partner. After Jason Behrendorff bowled a maiden over to Ishan Kishan, Jaiswal took on short and him for a four followed by a six. But Short had the last laugh as Jaiswal mistimed it to Smith at mid-off. He scored 21 runs from just eight balls. In the next over, Suryakumar hit the first six of his innings. Sean Abbott took a beating too as Suryakumar and Kishan hit him for 20 runs in the fifth over. Nathan Ellis was not spared either as Suryakumar hit him for two fours. Both batters were cautious in Tanveer Sangha's first over. In his next over, Kishan hit one four and two sixes. India were 106/2 at the halfway stage.
The slower bouncers could not slow down the run rate. In the 13th over, Kishan hit a boundary to bring up his half-century from 37 balls. He followed it up with a maximum. Sangha had the last laugh as he got Kishan's wicket next ball. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 59 runs from 39 balls featuring two fours and five sixes. In the next over, Suryakumar reached his half-century with a six from 29 balls. Tilak Varma hit a couple of boundaries and then became Sangha's second victim of the night.
Rinku Singh joined Suryakumar in the middle. Rinku hit Stoinis for two fours in the 16th over. Suryakumar suffered cramps but that did not stop him from hitting Ellis for two fours and a six. In the 18th over, he was dismissed by Behrendorff as Aaron Hardie took a brilliant catch sprinting back from mid-on. Suryakumar on his captaincy debut scored 80 runs from 42 balls featuring nine fours and four sixes.
After Suryakumar’s wicket, India needed 15 runs from 14 balls. Patel got off the mark with a single. Behrendorff finished his spell with a dot ball. Against Ellis' slower short balls, Patel struggled and faced three dot balls. He got Rinku on strike with a single who hit a boundary on the fifth ball. He kept the strike for the final over as India needed seven runs. Against Abbott, he started off with a boundary to release pressure. Patel went for the glory shot and got caught and bowled. Bishnoi was beaten by the bouncer and tried to sneak a single but got run out. Rinku managed to hit the ball in the gap but Arshdeep got run out trying to sneak the second run. On the last ball, Rinku smashed the ball into the crowd to get India over the line. However, Rinku’s six did not count as Abbott bowled a no ball.
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