 | « Back to article | Print this article |
PHOTOS: Yuvraj fires India past Australia in Rajkot T20
Yuvraj Singh blasted a quickfire half-century in his comeback to international cricket to power India to victory against Australia in the one-off Twenty20 match in Rajkot, on Thursday.
- Scorecard
Yuvraj slammed 77 not out from 35 balls as India clinched a six-wicket victory with two balls to spare after Australia had posted a huge 201 for seven.
Earlier, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl.
Australia handed young all-rounder Nic Maddinson his debut, while Yuvraj returned to the Indian squad.
Finch, Maddinson give Australia quickfire start
Aaron Finch and debutant Nic Maddinson gave the Aussies a solid start, racing to 50 in just 4.1 overs.
Maddinson showed no signs of nerves as he punished the bowlers while scoring a 16-ball 34.
The 21-year-old left-hander was involved in a 56-run opening stand with Finch before he was castled by seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Vinay, Bhuvneshwar restrict Australia
Vinay Kumar, who was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 3 for 26, checked the Aussies by claiming two crucial wickets -- of all-rounder Shane Watson (6) and skipper George Bailey (0).
Bhuvneshwar Kumar also chipped away at the wickets, taking three for 35 in four overs.
Maxwell's cameo lifts Australia
Australia regained the momentum through Glenn Maxwell, who want on an all-out attack to score 27 off just 13 balls.
The 24-year-old hit four sixes in his breezy innings, including three in the same over off Ravichandran Ashwin.
Finch's fifty lifts Australia to 201
Finch was dismissed in the 17th over when Vinay held on to a powerful shot in his follow through. But, by then, he had hoisted Australia with a 52-ball 89, which included 15 boundaries and a six.
India lose early wicket
India struggled at the start with the bat as they lost an early wicket.
Opener Rohit Sharma (8) was caught behind off Clint McKay in the second over of the innings.
Suresh Raina also didn't last long and was caught at midwicket off Nathan Coulter-Nile for 19 as India slipped to 50 for two in the sixth over.
Dhawan dismissed for 32
Shikhar Dhawan threatened briefly with a quick innings of 32 from 19 balls.
Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty struck in his very first over, when he had Dhawan stumped to check India's progress.
Yuvraj's attack flattens Australia
Yuvraj went on the attack right from the start as all the Aussie bowlers suffered.
The left-hander raced to 50 from 25 balls to keep India in the hunt despite the run rate climbing up all the time in the middle overs.
Yuvraj, Dhoni carry India to victory
The match was evenly poised with India needing 49 from four overs for victory before Yuvraj single-handedly changed the script.
He hit James Faulkner for back to back sixes to get 20 runs from the 17th over which brought things under control as far as India were concerned.
India needed seven runs from the final over for victory and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again hit the winning runs, off Shane Watson.
Yuvraj smashed his way to 77 not out from 35 balls, hitting eight fours and five sixes, at an astonishing strike rate of 220.
On the other hand, Dhoni played a subdued knock, hitting 24 from 21 balls, as the duo were involved in an unbroken stand of 102 runs from 51 balls that carried India to victory with two balls to spare.