The first T20I between India and Australia was staged at Mohali and Australia managed to draw the first blood in the three-match series on Tuesday (September 20). On account of some sheer hitting by the Aussie middle order made a daunting task look viable.
Rohit Sharma & Co's frailties with the ball were laid bare as Australia gunned down a formidable 209-run target rather comfortably with four balls to spare to start their campaign on a high. Matthew Wade's 45 off 21 and Cameron Green's 61 off 30 were too hot for India despite KL Rahul's handsome 55 off 35 and Hardik Pandya's stunning 71 off 30.
Mathew Wade whose heroics from the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final saw a repeat as he emulated the same fireworks in the first T20I against India.
India’s struggles at the fag-end of the game continued to recur as the Indian bowlers were taken to cleaners at the penultimate make-or-break overs. T20I specialists, the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-52-0) and Harshal patel (4-0-52-0) gave a bad account of themselves with the ball as they leaked plenty of runs with the duo amounting to 101 runs in their 4 overs spell which exemplifies India’s listless death bowling.
Captain Rohit Sharma didn’t hold any punches regarding India’s woeful performance with the ball. "I don't think we bowled well. 200 is a good score to defend, and we didn't take our chances in the field. It was a great effort from our batters, but bowlers were not quite there," he said.
"There are things we need to look at, but it was a great game for us to understand what went wrong. We know this is a high-scoring ground. You can't relax even if you get 200. We took wickets to an extent, but they played really well. They played some extra-ordinary shots. If I was in that changing room, I would expect to chase that total. You can back yourself to defend 60 runs in the final 4 overs. We were not able to take that extra wicket." - said the captain in the post-match presentation.
Justifiably this invited some introspection from former Indian cricketers to take stock of the death bowling which has been a cause of concern that needs urgent addressing. The former cricketers who imparted the Indian fans' thoughts took to Twitter criticising the dismal show with the ball.
"Saying this again use Bhuvi for only one over in last 5 overs," Irfan Pathan wrote on Twitter after the match ended.
And our death bowling is exposed again! High time we introspect and correct why are we succumbing under pressure so often. #INDvsAUS," Amit Mishra, former India spinner, wrote on Twitter.
I think India have missed a trick by not giving Arshdeep more games to groom in the death overs. Should give him as many games before the World Cup as possible. #IndvsAus," Venkatesh Prasad, former India fast bowler, wrote.
