VISAKHAPATNAM: It is very uncharacteristic for the Australian bowlers to be erratic but on Thursday night, the visitors’ bowling unit couldn’t get their line right. The Australians conceded a whopping 12 wides which meant that the Indians had two extra overs to bat.
At the end, the extra balls did play an important role in the game, but centurion Josh Inglis doesn’t blame the bowlers for the fiasco. Instead, he credits Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav for putting the bowlers under such immense pressure that they faltered.
“It is obviously not ideal to bowl so many wides but I think SKY is such a hard guy to bowl to and he was taking the pace of the ball and moving around the crease so much and had put immense pressure on the bowlers. We need to clean this up in the next few games,” Inglis said after the game.
1/10:1st T20I: Suryakumar Yadav leads India stat attack against Australia
AFP
2/10:India beat Australia
<p>India's two-wicket win is their second successful 200-plus run chase against Australia in T20Is after the six-wicket win at Rajkot in 2013. </p>Getty Images
3/10:Team India
<p>India is the only team to complete five successful run-chases of 200 or more in T20Is. </p>Getty Images
4/10:India's highest successful run chase
<p>The 209-run chase win in Visakhapatnam is India's highest successful run chase in T20Is. </p>PTI
5/10:India's highest total against Australia
<p>209/8 is India's highest total against Australia in T20Is, eclipsing the 208/6 at Mohali on September 20, 2022. </p>Getty Images
6/10:Suryakumar Yadav
<p>Suryakumar Yadav (42-ball-80) slammed the highest individual score on captaincy debut for India in T20Is. </p>AFP
7/10:SKY is the limit
<p>Suryakumar Yadav eclipsed the 62 by KL Rahul vs Afghanistan at Dubai on September 8, 2022. </p>AFP
8/10:Man of the Match
<p>Suryakumar Yadav was named the Player-of-the-Match for the 13th time in T20Is, his second award against Australia. </p>AFP
9/10:Ishan Kishan
<p>Ishan Kishan joined MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant to hit two 50-plus scores by designated wicketkeepers for India in T20Is. KL Rahul heads the list with 3. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Josh Inglis
<p>With his maiden T20I ton, Josh Inglis equalled the Australian record of Aaron Finch to hit a T20I hundred off 47 balls. </p>Getty Images“It’s hard to say really where we went wrong. It’s a pretty wicket and SKY did what he regularly does. It was an exceptional innings today. And with Ishan (Kishan) top there, it was not easy for us. Maybe if we had got a wicket or two earlier, the pressure would have been on the Indians. Maybe it would have been a different scenario then. But, on the whole, it was a good day of cricket,” Inglis added.
Australia were penalized for maintaining a slow overrate and had to lose the services of a fielder on the boundary in the 19th and 20th overs. “It is never ideal to have a fielder less on the boundary at the back end as having an extra catcher on the boundary puts pressure on the batters,” the Australian said.
Despite the loss, it was a fruitful day for Inglis personally. The Australian not only smashed his maiden century in international cricket but also went on to become the joint fastest centurion for Australia in T20Is. He equalled the record of former captain Aaron Finch, who hammered a 47-ball ton against England in 2013 in Southampton.
1/10:1st T20I: Surya, Rinku help India chase down 209 against Australia
Getty Images
2/10:India's record chase
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav's 42-ball 80 and an unbeaten cameo by Rinku Singh helped the hosts chase down an Indian best of 209 against Australia.AFP
3/10:Rinku Singh's heroics
Rinku, a left-hand batsman who hit 22 off 14 balls, smashed a six that was not counted as the run off the no-ball got India past their previous best chase of 208 against the West Indies in 2019.AFP
4/10:'Chase master' Rinku Singh
Needing seven off the last over, India lost three succesive wickets including two run outs on ball four and five before chase-master Rinku got the team to victory after Sean Abbott bowled a no-ball.PTI
5/10:Suryakumar's captaincy debut
"Very happy with the way the boys displayed the talent on the field. We were put under pressure, but the way everyone came back into the game, was great," Suryakumar said of the win.ANI
6/10:Key partnership
Suryakumar's 112-run third-wicket stand with Ishan Kishan, who smashed a 39-ball 58, proved key after the hosts lost their openers on 22.PTI
7/10:Inglis' explosive century
Josh Inglis smashed 110 off 50 balls -- his maiden international ton -- to guide Australia to 208-3 after being invited to bat first on a batting-friendly pitch.PTI
8/10:Australia's blistering partnership
Australia lost an early wicket before Inglis, who smashed 110 off 50 balls, joined Steve Smith, who made 52 before being run out, to hammer 130 runs off 67 balls in a blistering partnership.PTI
9/10:Australia's T20 World Cup preparation
Australia rested many of their ODI stars -- including Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa -- as they plan for the T20 World Cup in June.PTI
10/10:Next match in Thiruvananthapuram
The second T20I match between India and Australia will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.PTIInglis also became Australia's fastest centurion against India in T20I cricket. He went past Maxwell, who smashed a 50-ball ton against India in 2019. Overall, this knock from Inglis was the second fastest T20I ton against India after David Miller, who got it in 46 balls.
Asked about his record-breaking innings, Inglis said: “It’s nice to get the monkey off the back, I suppose. The focus was on winning the game but, unfortunately, we couldn’t get it today. The mindset is pretty good. The T20 World Cup is around the corner and it’s a good opportunity to get some T20 cricket before the big event. I gave 100 percent of my effort in that direction.”
