Team India defeated Australia by two wickets in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, November 23.
Australia were put into bat first in the contest after losing the toss. Josh Inglis hit a blistering century and powered his side to a massive total of 208/3 in 20 overs. Steve Smith (52) supported him with a half-century, while Tim David (19*) chipped in with a blazing cameo in the end.
In reply, Yashasvi Jaiswal gave a brisk start to the hosts with a flurry of boundaries. A miscommunication resulted in the unfortunate run-out dismissal of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who departed without facing a ball. Jaiswal also perished soon after, leaving India at 22/2 in 2.3 overs.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav (80) then came in and played a scintillating knock to shepherd his side towards the target. He dominated the bowling from the onset and looked in pristine touch. Ishan Kishan (58) struggled for a while but made up for it by targeting leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha.
Things got a bit tense in the end as India lost a couple of quick wickets. Rinku Singh held his nerves and stayed at the crease till the second-last ball to finish the game for his side.
Cricket fans on social media enjoyed the opening T20I match between India and Australia on Thursday. They expressed their reactions through some hilarious memes on social media.
Here are some of the best memes:
"It was a good match in the end"- Australia captain Matthew Wade after loss against India
At the post-match presentation, Australian skipper Matthew Wade reflected on the defeat and said:
"It was a good match in the end. Josh Inglis played a terrific knock and got us a score we thought we could defend, but India came out hard. These Indians coming out of the IPL show they're made for International cricket and they showed their class today. We had pretty clear plans on what to bowl, ran our fingers over the ball a little bit, yorkers towards the end, easier said than done.
He continued:
"Behrendorff was terrific today, young Sangha kept us in the game with the wickets. Lot of positives to take out of the game, 4 more games to go. To see Inglis come out at three and play his shots, he's a class player on the night. Really happy for him. We just wanted to hang in the game, Ellis bowled a great over which gave us a chance. Credit to the boys in hanging in."
The two teams will next face off in the second T20I of the series on Sunday (November 26) at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
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