India vs Australia 1st T20I Highlights: Australia tear into Indian attack, gun down 209-run target to take 1-0 lead | Cricket News

MOHALI: India’s weaknesses with the ball were laid bare as Australia knocked down a formidable target of 209 runs rather comfortably for a four-wicket win in the first T20I on Tuesday.
KL Rahul (55 balls out of 35) and Hardik Pandya (71 out of 30) helped India post an impressive 208 for six after Australia batted the hosts.
Dashboard | How it happened
Australia dominated the chase, heading home in 19.2 overs. Last year’s World Cup hero Matthew Wade (not 45 of 21) and cameron green (61 of 30) played special moves to make short work of a hard target.
It was a terrific total, but the way Australia started, an early end was on the cards.
Opening for the first time in international cricket, Green was in a menacing mood as he hammered returning man Umesh Yadav for four successive limits in his first T20 since February 2019.
The seasoned Indian pacer felt the heat straight away and resorted to slower bowling balls on his very first pass, which didn’t work.

(Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
There was no heavy dew but no swing was offered for Umesh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The batters managed to cross the line, making the Indian attack look very ordinary.
The melon that stands out for India, Axar Patel, pulled out opposition skipper Aaron Finch to get a much-needed breakthrough. However, more carnage was in store as Green, who is not even part of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, bowled with Steve Smith having fun on the other side.
In the eighth, he swept Yuzvendra Chahal for a couple of sixes and a four for 19 points. India abandoning Green and Smith also did not help their cause.

At 109 for a 10 over, Australia ran away with the contest before India fought back with three quick wickets, two of them via Rohit Sharma’s brilliant DRS calls, which sent Smith and Glenn Maxwell back into the hut .
With five wickets in hand, Australia needed 55 from the last 24 serves.
However, Australian debutant Tim David, along with the experienced Wade, went ballistic into the dead to complete a fine chase.
Two big overs in which Bhuvneshwar dropped 15 and Harshal 22 sealed the fate of the home side.

Earlier, Rahul made a statement with a high quality shot before Hardik hit an undefeated 71, which included five sixes.
Suryakumar Yadav also played breathtaking shots in his 46 from 25 balls. Expecting dew, Australia went for the bowl.
Jasprit Bumrah, who was picked for the series after recovering from a back injury, was surprisingly not selected for the series opener. Dinesh Karthik was chosen ahead of Rishabh Pant.
After Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fell cheaply, Rahul and Suryakumar shared a 68-on-42-ball showdown. It was raining sixes when they were in the middle.
Rahul’s march through the stumps to send Josh Hazlewood over the cow’s corner made his intention clear before whipping Cameron Green for a huge six on a deep square leg. Suryakumar’s style of play is often impressive and the Mohali crowd got to see him at his best.
Of his four sixes, his shot to a thin leg from a good length ball from Cummins stood out. India were able to maintain their pace through the middle overs as Suryakumar picked up leggie Adam Zampa for two successive sixes off a long, deep midwicket.
Hardik then took over and pushed India past 200. He was quick to punish anything short of the leaders and his pickup shot on Pat Cummins in the 18th was the highlight of his entertaining shot.
He broke three straight sixes off Green in the 20th, including a flat one in the center wicket area. The last five overs yielded 67 points.