Aussies celebrate the wicket of Virat Kohli. (AP Photo)India vs Australia T20 highlights: In a nail-biting finish Australia stunned India by three wicketets in the first T20 that went on till the last ball of the match. Being set the tarhet of 127 runs, Australia was at one point of time comfortably placed but Men in Blue took a couple of quick wickeys to sniff a win. Maxwell was the top scores for Aussies with 56 runs. Short also contributed 37 runs before he was run out. For India, Bumrah was the pick of the bowler with three wickets. Chahal and Pandya took 1 wicket each.
Earlier, batting first after putting in to bat, India set the target of 127 runs for Australia to chase. Apart from KL Rahul (50 runs) none of the batsmen lived up to the expectations. Even though Virat Kohli put up 53 runs partnership with KL Rahul for the second wicket, he could contribute 24 runs before being caught byCoulter Nile off the bowling of Zampa. MS Dhoni contributed with 29 runs to help India put up a decent score on the board.
With Rohit Sharma was out cheaply for 5 runs, it was a sorry tale in the midddle with Rishabh Pant (3 runs), Dinesh Karthik (1 run), Gardhik Pandya (1 run) and Umesh Yadav (2 runs) were out cheaply. The next match will be played in Bengaluru on Wednesday, February 27.
Men In Blue practice ahead of the match. (Twitter/ BCCI)
Highlights
Australia won the nail-biting finish by 3 wickets. While at one point it seemed visitors will win the match quite easily, Men in Blue ca,e back from behind to almost snatch the match away from them. The match went on to the haywire with Aussies winning the first T20 in the last ball of the match.
Aussies now need 2 runs of 1 ball. Will it be a tie now?
Couletr Nile is out, He is bowlec by Bumrah for 4 runs. Australia need 14 runs off 6 balls noe.
Handscomb is out. He is caught by Dhoni off the bowling of Bumrah for 13 rums. Australia now need 14 runs to win off 7 balls. Can india pull of a meracle here?
Indians are trying to make comeback after taking two quick Aussie wickets. The last to go was Turner who was out for o. Visitors now need 18 runs to win in 15 balls with five wickets in hand.
In a major breakthrough, Indi a got breakthrough of Maxwell who is caught by Rahul off the bowling of Chahal. However, the batsman has done his job with visitors cruising towards victory at the moment.
Australia: 67/2
Maxwell: 45 runs
Short: 21 runs
Current Partnership: 63 runs
The current partnership between Maxwell and Short has moved on to 36 runs. While Maxwell has moved on to 29 runs, Maxwell is on 12. Australia now need 84 runs to win in 13.2 overs with 8 wickets in hand. India bowlers are bowling at good line and length at the moment.
Australia 34/2
Maxwell: 22
Short:11
Australia 34/2
Maxwell: 22
Short:11
Maxwell hits a boundary off the bowling of Bumrah. The batsman punches the short towards cover, with a sublime touch, helping himself to break the shackle. After 4 overs Australia is 22/2. They now need 105 runs to win in 16 overs.
India started off on a positive note taking 2 quick wickets of the visiting team. While Stoinis was run out for 1 run, Finch was LBW for 0. EarlierIndiaa have set the target of 127 runs for Australia. They now need 118 runs to win in 18 overs with 8 wickets in hand.
India have set the target of 127 runs for Australia to win. KL Rahul was the top scorer for India with 50 runs. Other major contributors were Vira Kohli and MS Dhoni who contributed 29 runs.
With wickets falling at regular interval, it remains to be seen how MS Dhoni perform from here on. He need to play some big shots to help india put a competitive total on board. India at the moment tottering at 117/7 in 18.4 overs.
India: 104/6
MS Dhoni: 17 runs
Umesh Yadav: 0
Dinesh Karthik is out cheaply for 1 run. He is bowled by Coulter Nile. india in bit af a bother at the moment with Aussies continue to dominate the match at the moment. India really needs a strong partnership from here won to put a strong defendable total. all eyes on experience MS Dhoni now who has moved on 14 runs.
Important wicket fall for India as KL Rahul is out for 50 runs. He is caught by Finch off the bowling of Coulter-Nile . Australian bowlers are having the upper hand at the moment with Indian batsmen failing to read them.
It is total disaster in the middle as Rishabh Pant is run out by quite a distance. The new batsman is MS Dhoni. He and KL Rahul will have to put up a string partnership for India to put up a competitive total on board. India have already lost big wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Virat Kohli goes for 24 runs. he is caught by Coulter-Nile off the bowling of Zampa . He had put on 53 run partnership with KL Rahul before getting out. The opener meanwhile has moved on to 44 runs. he need to stay around for while if India is to put a competitive total on board. the new man in is Rishabh Pant.
India: 59/1
Virat Kohli: 19 runs
KL Rahul: 33 runs
India lost the first wicket as Rohit Sharma is out. He is caught by Zampa off the bowling of Behrendorff . the new man in is Virat Kohli. At the moment India is 32/1 in 4.3 overs. Kohli and Rahul are looking to put a strong partnership to make up for the loss of the first wicket.
KL Rahul starts his inning with a boundary. He hits the boundary off the bowling of Richardson. Australia have drawn the first blood with Sharma going out for 5 runs. India 14/1
Both teams have lined up for the national anthem. India is taking on Australia in the first of the two T20 matches today. The TWO series will be followed by 5-match ODI series. Both teams are wearing black bands in memory of Pulwama terror attack victims in which 40 CRPF jawans lost hir lives on February 14.
Cricket fans in Visakhapatnam continue to throng the stadium to watch the first T20I match between india and Australia. Visitors have won the toss and put Men in Blue to bat first.
Since the start of T20s India and Australia have together played in 18 matches. While 11 of them have been won by Men in Blue, Aussies won 6 of them. 1 match abandoned due to rain. the bilateral series will give a clear picture for India's World Cup squad.
Senior Indian batsmen Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan among other batsmen are in good form. Hosts will try to put up a competitive total on board for Australia to chase. While Men in Blue are looking stronger on paper, Aussies cannot be taken lightly either.
Australian captain Aaron Fitch has won the toss and decided to field first in the first T20 of the two-match series. India is bolstered by the return of regular captain Virat Kohli who got a well-earned rest during the New Zealand series. The T20 will be followed by ODI series, that will be the last before the forthcoming World Cup in England.
Toss will be held in a few minutes from now. The present T20 and upcoming ODI series is important for both sides as the teams for the World cup is going to be announced in a few days. The mega event is scheduled to be held from May 30 in England. Australia is the defending champions at the moment. However with a number of new players Aussies may not look as tough side as before.
The match between both sides will be held at Visakhapatnam today from 7 pm. The toss is expected to be around 6:30 pm. The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network. Fans acan also watch the live watch on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD.
Regular skipper Virat Kohli is back at the helm. He was given a much-deserved rest in the recently concluded series against New Zealand. The two T20s and 5 ODI will be India's last series before the World Cup that will begin from May 30 in England. There are a number of players who will be watched ahead of the team selection before the mega event,
India
Virat Kohli (c), Jaspreet Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Siddharth Kaul, Mayank Markande,Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav
Australia
Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, DJM Short, Marcus Stoinis, AshtonTurner, A Zampa