Kohli, Krunal, Kuldeep & Karthik set up 6- wicket win
It is very difficult when you play your first game in Australia and you get hammered for 53 from 4 overs. To come out of that was not easy. KRUNAL PANDYA
wickets and D’Arcy Short top- scoring on 33.
Despite losing, Australian captain Aaron Finch said he was proud of the team.
“The way we fought was outstanding,” he said. “Still fair bit of work to do but we’re going in the right direction which is nice. Feeling good for the Tests.”
Australia were boosted by strike bowler Mitchell Starc being back for his first T20 international in two years, replacing Jason Behrendorff.
He caused opening batsmen Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan trouble but they took apart Nathan CoulterNile at the other end, each cracking a huge six in plundering 29 runs off his first two overs.
Their confidence was soaring and the strokes were majestic as they hammered 22 off Marcus Stoinis’ opening over.
Finch brought Starc back in desperation and he delivered, trapping Dhawan lbw for a highlyentertaining 41 off 22 balls.
Adam Zampa then bowled Sharma for 23, giving them a glimmer of hope.
The spin combination of Zampa and Glenn Maxwell stym- ied the runs and it was game on when KL Rahul fell and Rishabh Pant went first ball, leavi n g I n d i a n e e d - ing 56 off 36 deliveries. But Kohli was unstoppable, hitting two sixes and four fours as he guided his side home alongside Dinesh Karthik ( not out 22). Australia’s inconsistent batting has been a concern since the balltampering scandal in March. Australia: D’Arcy Short lbw b K. Pandya 33, Aaron Finch c K Pandya b K. Yadav 28, Glenn Maxwell c Rohit b K. Pandya 13, Ben McDermott lbw b K. Pandya 0, Alex Carey c Kohli b K. Pandya 27, Chris Lynn run out ( Bumrah) 13, Marcus Stoinis ( not out) 25, Nathan Coulter- Nile ( not out) 13. Extras ( b1, lb2, w9) 12. Total ( for 6 wickets in 20 Overs) 164. FoW: 1- 68, 2- 72, 3- 73, 490, 5- 119, 6- 131. Bowling: Bhuvneshwar 4- 0- 33- 0, Khaleel 4- 035- 0, Bumrah 4- 0- 38- 0, Kuldeep 4- 0- 19- 1, Krunal 4- 0- 36- 4.
India: Rohit Sharma b Zampa 23, Shikhar Dhawan lbw b Starc 41, Virat Kohli ( not out) 61, K. L. Rahul c Coulter- Nile b Maxwell 14, Rishabh Pant c A Carey b Andrew Tye 0, Dinesh Karthik ( not out) 22. Extras ( w6, lb1) 7. Total ( for four wickets in 19.4 overs) 168.
FoW: 1- 67, 2- 67, 3- 108, 4108.
Bowling: Starc 4- 0- 26- 1, Coulter- Nile 3- 0- 40- 0, Stoinis 1- 0- 22- 0, Zampa 4- 1- 22- 1, Maxwell 4- 025- 1, Tye 3.4- 0- 32- 1.