Men in Blue held their nerves to beat Australia by 2 wickets in the T20I opener, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav led from the front with a blistering knock of 42-ball 80 and helped his side to successfully chase a big target of 209. Ishan Kishan supported his captain well with a fine knock of 58. Defending 7 runs in the final over, Australia did well to take three wickets. However, Rinku Singh stood tall to hit a beautiful six and take India home. 

Batting first, Steve Smith and Matt Short gave Australia a steady start, adding 31 runs in 4.3 overs. Ravi Bishnoi’s introduction was fruitful for India as the spinner cleaned up Short for 13. But Smith and Josh Inglis played attacking innings and scored runs quickly. Both put Australia in a commanding position with a superb partnership of 130 runs for the second wicket.

Smith departed for 52 after Prasidh Krishna did a brilliant job on the field to run him out. However, Inglis continued to attack the Indian bowlers and went on to reach his power-packed century, hitting 11 fours and 8 sixes. Tim David chipped in with 19 as Australia posted a defendable total of 208/3 in 20 overs.

In reply, luck didn’t favor India as Ruturaj Gaikwad walked off the field without facing a single ball. Yashasvi Jaiswal gave India a quick start, firing 21 runs off just 8 balls. Ishan and Suryakumar Yadav stitched a fine 112-run partnership to keep India in the hunt. Although wickets kept falling at one end, Rinku’s cameo of 22 helped India to taste the victory.