India clinch last ball thriller against Australia, record major milestone in T20I run chase
‘Battle is the great crucible – it forges the greatest of warriors’ – Tasked to chase a huge target of 209, India did it with flying colors. This was also India’s highest run chase in the shortest format of the game. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan were the chief architects of India’s innings as India dominated Australia to take a 1-0 lead in the India vs Australia T20I series.
While India has scored more runs while chasing T20Is, this is the first time that India has gone on to chase the highest total in T20Is. Previously while tasked to chase 207 by West Indies, the Men in Blue slammed 208 runs to win the tie.
Highest targets successfully chased by India in T20Is
209 vs AUS, Visakhapatnam, 2023
208 vs WI, Hyderabad, 2019
207 vs SL, Mohali, 2009
204 vs NZ, Auckland, 2020
202 vs AUS, Rajkot, 2013
208 vs WI, Hyderabad, 2019
207 vs SL, Mohali, 2009
204 vs NZ, Auckland, 2020
202 vs AUS, Rajkot, 2013
SKY Blitzkrieg hits Australia
If it was Josh Inglis who hammered India while batting first, it was India’s skipper, the World Number 1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav who butchered Australia. Steve Smith hit a fifty and Josh Inglis’s century was enough for Australia to amass a big total for the Men in Yellow.
India’s start was horrible after Ruturaj Gaikwad departed for a diamond duck. On came Ishan Kishan and SKY who set the pace of the game. Despite Gaikwad & Jaiswal’s early dismissal, the destructive duo of SKY & Kishan continued to switch gears and go on the aggressive front against the Aussies.
Keeping at par with the asking rate, Kishan slammed a fine fifty. The southpaw slammed 58 from 39 balls hitting 2 fours and 5 sixes in the process. On the other hand, SKY who went Sky-high hammered a destructive knock of 80 runs from 42 balls. The Indian skipper demolished the opposition with 9 fours and 4 sixes as Rinku Singh & Axar Patel helped India to chase down 7 runs from the last over.
India was in a bit of bother in the last over of the game when Axar Patel was dismissed. Ravi Bishnoi & Arshdeep Singh were then dismissed in back-to-back balls as India was left to chase 1 run in the last ball. Rinku Singh clobbered a big sixer but it didn’t count as Sean Abbott overstepped resulting in India sealing the game by 2 wickets.
