Maxwell's 48-ball 104* fashions victory for Australia to keep T20I series alive
GUWAHATI: Marriage is in the air in this auspicious month of November in many parts of the country. Alas, if there was a marriage between the efforts of Team India batters and bowlers in the ongoing T20I series, the hosts would have been well served. After winning the first two games despite the bowlers’ below-par performance, India suffered their first loss of the series as they went down to Australia by five wickets after scoring 222 for three on being asked to bat first at Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden international ton went in vain as Glenn Maxwell turned on his ‘Mad Max’ mode with able support from skipper Matthew Wade as Australia clinched a last-ball thriller to keep the series alive with two matches to go.
With his 57-ball 123*, Gaikwad carried his bat through and became the first Indian to score a century against the Australians in the shortest format. However, he ended up scoring his first T20I ton in a losing cause.
1/10:3rd T20I: Maxwell keeps Australia alive against India
AFP
2/10:Glenn Maxwell
<p>Glenn Maxwell smashed an unbeaten 104 as Australia pulled off a stunning chase of 223 in the third T20I against India to stay alive in the series with a five-wicket win.</p>AFP
3/10:Ruturaj Gaikwad
<p>India rode on Ruturaj Gaikwad's maiden international century and his 141-run unbeaten stand with Tilak Varma to post a mammoth 222-3 in Guwahati on Tuesday.</p>AFP
4/10:52-ball 100
<p>Australia elected to bowl first and got two early wickets but Gaikwad took apart the opposition bowling to raise his 100 off 52 balls.</p>AFP
5/10:India blitzkrieg
<p>Gaikwad finished with 13 fours and seven sixes in his 57-ball blitz with Varma, who hit 31 off 24 balls, playing anchor at the other end. </p>AFP
6/10:47-ball 100
<p>Maxwell struck his 100 in 47 balls and completed the win with a six and three fours from the final four balls of the 20th over before he flies back home.</p>AFP
7/10:4th T20I ton
<p>It was Maxwell's fourth T20I century as he joined Rohit Sharma with most tons in the format and the knock eclipsed a 123 by Ruturaj Gaikwad.</p>AFP
8/10:47-ball 100
<p>Maxwell's 47-ball hundred was the joint fastest in the format for an Australian batsman alongside Aaron Finch and Josh Inglis.</p>AFP
9/10:100th T20I
<p>Maxwell, in his 100th T20I, struck eight fours and eight sixes and put on an unbeaten 91-run stand with skipper Matthew Wade (28).</p>AFP
10/10:Cramps in the end
<p>Australia slipped to 68-3, but Maxwell stood firm and tore into the Indian attack despite getting cramps towards the end. </p>AFPOn a placid track, India got off to a good start scoring 14 runs off the first over, but Jason Behrendorff gave the visitors their first breakthrough when an out-of-position Yashasvi Jaiswal returned trying for a shot over cover. No. 3 Ishan Kishan lasted only five balls.
Thereafter, captain Suryakumar Yadav joined hands with Gaikwad to take the side to 80 runs in 10 overs with his trademark shots around the park for a 29-ball 39 before he edged pacer Aaron Hardie behind. Vice-captain Gaikwad, playing second fiddle to skipper SKY thus far, shifted gears then.
1/10:3rd T20I: Records shattered by Maxwell and Gaikwad
AFP
2/10:Ruturaj Gaikwad
<p>Ruturaj Gaikwad's unbeaten 123 is his maiden hundred in T20Is, the second highest by an Indian in T20Is behind the 126* by Shubman Gill vs New Zealand.</p>Getty Images
3/10:Losing cause
<p>Ruturaj Gaikwad is the fourth Indian to hit a T20I hundred in a losing cause after Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.</p>Getty Images
4/10:141-run partnership
<p>The unbeaten 141-run partnership between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma is India's highest 4th wicket stand against any opponent in T20Is.</p>Getty Images
5/10:4th wicket stand
<p>The stand between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma is also the highest by any pair for the 4th wicket against Australia.</p>Getty Images
6/10:Glenn Maxwell
<p>Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten 104 is his fourth T20I century as he joined Rohit Sharma with most tons in the format.</p>Getty Images
7/10:Match-winning tons
<p>Glenn Maxwell became the first batsman to hit all four hundreds in a winning cause, two vs India and one each vs England and Sri Lanka. </p>Getty Images
8/10:Successful chases
<p>Three of Glenn Maxwell's four hundreds have come in successful chases, which is also a record.</p>Getty Images
9/10:47-ball 100
<p>Glenn Maxwell's 47-ball hundred was the joint fastest in the format for an Australian batsman alongside Aaron Finch and Josh Inglis.</p>Getty Images
10/10:Most runs conceded by an Aussie
<p>Glenn Maxwell conceded most runs (30) in an over in T20Is by an Australian bowler. </p>Getty ImagesScoring his first 21 runs in as many balls, Gaikwad played some stylish shots with aplomb to score his next 102 runs in just 32 balls as India amassed 90 runs in the last five overs. The 18th over by Hardie brought 25 runs while the last by Maxwell fetched 30 – most of the innings.
Gaikwad, certain to lose his vice-captaincy once Shreyas Iyer returns in the next game, hit 13 fours and seven sixes in the process and shared an unbeaten 141-run stand with Tilak Varma with the Hyderabadi left-hander scoring only 31 of those runs in 24 balls.
All the Aussie bowlers were taken to cleaners barring Behrendroff, who was the standout performer returning figures of 4-1-12-1.
Chasing 223 to keep the series alive, Travis Head, so far only travelling with the squad post his man-of-the-match performance in the World Cup final, started from where he had left. He gave Aussies a head start as they reached 50 runs in just 4.3 overs and touched 100 in 9.3 overs.
Bishnoi bowled well to give two timely breakthroughs in the form of first-game centurion Josh Inglis and then Suryakumar caught Tim David for a golden duck. But Maxwell, known for his knack of winning matches from tough positions, hung in and dished out a fantastic win in the end scoring 104 not out in 48 balls.
