Suryakumar Yadav finds his comfort zone to take India to victory against Australia in 1st T20I
Back in the format that has made him famous, the 33-year-old scored a quickfire 42-ball 80 to help the hosts win the first T20I
As if the mourning period for the World Cup final loss wasn’t short enough, the last thing Indian fans would’ve wanted in the first T20 International on Thursday was for an Australian opener to steal the show. For the longest time, it seemed the spectators in Visakhapatnam would indeed return heartbroken as Josh Inglis hit his first ton in international cricket. But skipper Suryakumar Yadav led from the front while Rinku Singh showed nerves of steel to help the hosts earn a thrilling last-ball win and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Chasing a daunting total of 209, India stuttered at the start but recovered thanks to half-centuries by Suryakumar and Ishan Kishan. It seemed the contest was done and dusted as India needed just two runs to win off the last four balls. But Australia, somehow, picked wickets off the next three balls and India were left needing one off one. All eyes were on Rinku and he ended up delivering yet again as the ball was sent over long-on for six, although that shot was not needed as Sean Abbott had over-stepped to close out the game there and then.
At the start of the chase, Yashasvi Jaiswal hit Stoinis for four and six in the first three balls of the innings but India quickly found themselves in a deeper hole. Two balls later, Ruturaj Gaikwad was run-out for a duck without having faced a single delivery. The vice-captain was left stranded in the middle of the pitch after Jaiswal called him for a second before deciding against running it.
To make matters worse, Jaiswal couldn’t carry on and was dismissed by Short in the third over. At 22/2, skipper Suryakumar joined Ishan Kishan at the crease, with India needing a special effort to get anywhere close to the target. Both batters hadn’t had a remarkable World Cup with the bat. While Kishan got to play just two games and scored 47 runs, Suryakumar remained far from his best in the 50-over format and returned with 107 runs from seven innings.
This time, though, both batters made the most of the conditions and launched a superb fightback for India. Suryakumar showcased his bag of tricks and was aggressive from the get-go. Kishan, who was batting on 19 off 21 balls at one point, went after leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha before racing to a 37-ball half-century.
India were 106/2 at the halfway stage of their innings, needing 103 runs off the last 60 balls. From there on, Australia’s pacers decided to bowl slower balls into the pitch for the most part but Rinku joined forces with Suryakumar and the hosts ended up gaining the driver’s seat in quick time.
Rinku, as he usually does, found boundaries with ease and further established himself as one of the best finishers in the country. But it was a classic Surya knock that was the main act. The 33-year-old was back in his elements and hit boundaries to all corners. He showed patience in the middle when he had to but accelerated again in style to score a 42-ball 80, with nine fours and four sixes.
Earlier, the pitch looked like an absolute belter and Suryakumar, leading India for the first time, had no hesitation in opting to bowl first.
Steve Smith, who opened for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League last season, walked out with Matthew Short and provided the early momentum. The senior pro, who wasn’t at his best in the World Cup (302 runs in 10 innings), hit a couple of cracking cover drives early on. He got a reprieve, as Ravi Bishnoi failed to hold on to a sharp return catch, but made the most of his opportunity and completed a 40-ball half-century.
It was, however, an Inglis lesson for the Indian bowlers that proved to be decisive. The right-hander came to the crease in the fifth over, after Bishnoi cleaned-up Short, and picked a boundary off the first ball. He, too, had struggled for consistency at the World Cup (159 runs in eight innings), but showed how devastating he can be with a 47-ball century. The 28-year-old keeper-batter, having added 130 runs for the second wicket with Smith, slammed 11 fours and eight sixes in his 50-ball 110.
India’s bowlers didn’t help their cause either and missed their mark repeatedly. They offered too much width outside off initially before pitching the ball all over the place in the latter stages. The fielding was sloppy as well and Australia managed to cross the 200-run mark thanks to an unbeaten 19 off 13 balls by Tim David.
While Bishnoi, who dropped Marcus Stoinis as well in the 18th over, was the most expensive bowler with figures of 1/54, Prasidh, who didn’t get to play any game in the World Cup after replacing the injured Hardik Pandya, was erratic and returned with 1/50. Mukesh Kumar may have gone wicketless but was the pick of the lot, conceding just five runs in the last over of the innings to finish with 0/29.
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