Australia vs India, 1st T20I: Ravindra Jadeja, concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal give India 1-0 lead with 11-run win in 1st T20I

KEY STORY

• All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and his concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal starred as India defeated Australia by 11 runs in the opening T20I of the three-match series at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Friday. With the help of Jadeja’s late cameo and Chahal’s excellent spell, India took a 1-0 lead in the series.

#TeamIndia win the first T20I by 11 runs.

Scorecard – https://t.co/NqBIFiANv3 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/UGMTR3QaP6

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 4, 2020

• Asked to bat first by Australian skipper Aaron Finch, India got off to a shaky start once again as opener Shikhar Dhawan was removed cheaply on 1 off 6 balls by Mitchell Starc. Captain Virat Kohli also failed to fire and was dismissed for a run-a-ball 9.

• KL Rahul held firm on one end with his class 51 off 40 balls and added a crucial stand of 38 runs for the third wicket with Sanju Samson (23).

• Samson looked in good touch for his 23 off 15 balls laced with a four and a six but he failed to convert his good start into a big score. With India reeling on 114/6 inside 17 overs after Hardik Pandya’s dismissal on 16, Ravindra Jadeja once again turned to be the saviour for the Men in Blue. Jadeja played a sublime cameo of unbeaten 44 off 23 balls.

• Jadeja’s knock helped India post a fighting total of 161 runs on the board and ensured the visitors had something to fight for.

• Jadeja, who had taken a blow on his helmet during the 20th over from Starc, was later ruled out from the second innings and was replaced by Yuzvendra Chahal, who came on as his concussion substitute.

• While Jadeja made an impact with the bat, it was concussion substitute Chahal, who impressed with the ball and turned the game in India’s favour with his spin. Chahal drew the first blood for India in the 8th over by removing Aaron Finch before picking up the important wickets of Steve Smith and Matthew Wade to finish with excellent figures of 3/25 in his 4 overs.

Three wickets apiece for Natarajan and Chahal as #TeamIndia take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.@yuzi_chahal is adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant figures of 3/25.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/mvq3Kl8esa

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 4, 2020

• Apart from Chahal, debutant pacer T Natarajan also impressed for Kohli’s men as he returned with a three-wicket haul from his four overs.

• The left-arm seamer finished with figures of 3/30 in his four overs and picked up the big wickets of D’Arcy Short and Glenn Maxwell.

• Chahal was awarded the Man of the Match for his game-changing spell after coming on as a substitute.

• India are 1-0 up in the three-match series and will be looking to clinch the three-match rubber when they take on the Aussies in the second T20I in Sydney on Sunday (December 06).