India v Australia, 1st T20I, Ranchi : Who Said What

After the action-packed ODI series, the focus now shifts to the ticket-selling format of the game, i.e., the T20 matches. Before the start of the series, Australia would have aimed to take at least one trophy back home while India would have strived to continue their domination over their opposition by sweeping the T20 series as well.

Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl first. Aaron Finch translated his form in the ODI into the T20s as he gave a blistering start to the Aussies. Much like the theme of the Australian tour of India, the visitors gave it away after receiving a good start as they lost wickets at regular intervals.

Kuldeep Yadav changed the game for the hosts with his spell as the death bowling gave him ample support. In the end, Australia could only manage a total of 118 for the loss of 8 wickets before rain interrupted play.

Due to the time lost due to rain, India had to chase down a tricky total of 48 runs in six overs by applying DLS method. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan completed the formalities and won the match by 9 wickets with three balls to spare. Kuldeep Yadav received the man of the match award for his spell.

Kuldeep Yadav

The man of the match, Kuldeep Yadav, seemed ecstatic to receive his very first man of the match award for India. He then described the planning involved in taking the wicket of Finch. He concluded by claiming that he was satisfied with his performance.

I’m very happy. My first Man of the Match. First couple of balls I saw what he (Finch) was trying to do and set him up with an overpitched ball. I always think about wickets and that’s what really matter to me and the team. I’m getting more confidence day by day and game. Performing well against a top side like Australia, I’m very happy for myself.

Virat Kohli

Winning captain Virat Kohli appreciated the efforts of the bowlers who constantly have eclipsed the batsmen with their performances off-late.

After winning the toss and bowling first that sort of effort was required and the our bowlers did well. The game can get tricky with a small chase like that. Bhuvi getting us the early breakthrough, Bumrah in the end overs and spinners in the middle overs. It’s been a combined effort from the players. Giving the younger bowlers the confidence they need.

After lauding his pace bowler, he heaped praises for his wrist spinners for continuing with their stranglehold on the opponents. Kohli thought it was unfortunate to lose Dhawan for the period as he looked in good touch.

Wrist spinners can turn the game on its head. We are very happy with the bowlers right now. You need to execute your yorkers and you have to have a strong in the head to take your chances against the batsmen. You need to have skill and a strong head in T20I cricket. He (Dhawan) was playing really well in Sri Lanka. He is an impact player and we need him to do well

David Warner

Losing captain David Warner seemed disappointed with the outcome of the game and stated that they did not deserve to win. Warner had no answers for the constant collapse in the batting in the past few months. He hoped for more games captaining Australia in the future.

“We will try and be better next game. At the end of the day, we didn’t deserve to win. The bowlers did an okay job. I don’t really have an answer for our struggles in T20Is. It’s disappointing and we’ll see how we can improve that. He’s (Behrendorff) from Perth and he’s got nice bounce and pace. I’m looking forward to playing more games with him in Australian colors

With this win, India takes a lead of 1-0 in three-match T20I series. The next match is scheduled to be played at Guwahati on October 10.