India vs Australia 1st T20I: Surya, Ishan, and Rinku lead India to a two-wicket victory

In the opening Twenty20 International on Thursday, India defeated Australia with a dramatic two-wicket victory thanks to outstanding innings from Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan. India lost two early wickets while chasing 209, but they recovered with to 80 from Surya and 58 from Ishan. Subsequently, India won the match on the final ball when Rinku Singh hit 22 off 14 balls. In T20 Internationals, this was India’s most successful chase to date. Tanveer Sangha claimed two wickets for Australia. Josh Inglis earlier made his first-ever T20I century, leading Australia to 208/3 in 20 overs.

Josh Inglis hit a 50-ball 110 to lead Australia to a total of 208/3. In his maiden match as India captain, Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and decided to bowl. Australia rested several World Cup champions, but Steve Smith began the batting and is off to a fast start. While opening partner Matthew Short was replaced by Ravi Bishnoi, Josh Inglis has since seized the game by the horns. With Smith at the other end, he smashed a half-century in 29 balls.

The partnership finished with 130 runs off 66 balls for the second wicket, with Smith getting 36 off 23. Smith finally fell for 52 off 41 balls, and Inglis went on to tie Aaron Finch’s record for the fastest T20I century by an Australian.

India had a rocky start, but they came back strong courtesy to Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan. For the third wicket, the partnership scored 112 runs in just 60 balls. Kishan fell for 58 off 39 balls, but Suryakumar has persevered since then. Tilak Varma was eliminated after a quickfire 12, and Rinku Singh is off to a fast start. It came down to India needing seven runs in the last over to win.

When Rinku smacked the opening ball for four, it appeared that India would have an easy time of it. The batsmen ran a leg-bye second ball, but Axar Patel was subsequently removed, turning the game into a thriller. With Rinku on strike, India needed one run off the last ball to win. He hit it for a six, but Sean Abbott overstepped, so only the one run that resulted from the no-ball counted.

Rinku finished with a score of 22 out of 14. Suryakumar has previously scored 80 points on 42 attempts. India broke their own record for the most successful T20I run chase and now leads the five-match series 1-0.

Suryakumar Yadav, Player of the match: “Very happy with the way the boys displayed the talent on the field. We were put under pressure, but the way everyone came back into the game, was great. I think it’s a proud moment, whenever you play cricket, you think of representing India, it will take some time to sink in but very proud. I just felt there will be some dew but, there was none. I knew the ground was small. We thought we will be chasing 230, but the bowlers put us back. We just wanted to be positive. Just enjoy and express yourself. I told Kishan one thing, just keep batting, don’t think of the target. After 10 overs, it was a tailor-made situation. We knew what would happen later on. I left the luggage in the dressing room. I just tried to enjoy my batting, whether I am batting 10 or 40 balls. There was great support from the ground. I told them not to take the the game too deep. The way the boys kept their nerve was great to see. It was a tailor-made situation for Rinku. His composure relaxed me also. The way all three fast bowlers pulled us back into the game after 16 overs. Incredible achievement.”

Matthew Wade, Australian Captain: “It was a good match in the end. Inglis played a terrific innings. The young Indian players played a great innings. Just to control what we can control. We had plans, but it is easier said that done. We bowled pretty well. Behrendorff and Sangha were great. A lot of positives to take out of it. I was speaking to him if he wanted to go down, don’t think that will happen. A great knock. We wanted to hang in. Ellis bowled a great over. It got down to the last ball. All credit to us and the boys for hanging in.”

Ishan Kishan: “Bowlers did a great job. We were put under pressure. Credit to Mukesh Kumar, the way he bowled. Everyone was eager to do well for the team, especially Rinku – it was his first game against a big team. Credit goes to Surya bhai for the way he played. He was taking on the bowlers. Plan was to give just 15-odd runs to the bowlers. The ball in which I got out, he was asking me to take a single. The communication was very good. Really happy because it’s a young side. We’ll make mistakes, but hopefully we’ll come back stronger as a bowling unit.”