Fired-up Yuvraj gives India big win

Cricket365
October 10, 2013

India pulled off a difficult chase against Australia in the one-off T20 on Thursday, reaching the 202 runs required with two balls to spare and six wickets in hand thanks to a swashbuckling 77 from Yuvraj Singh.

The veteran all-rounder made his return to the side, after being dropped, in fine style, smashing his half ton off just 35 balls, and reducing what should have been a challenging score into a singles-required canter.

India won the toss and chose to field first in Rajkot, and that soon looked to be a mistake. Debutant Nic Maddinson and fellow opener Aaron Finch set about taking the home bowlers to task, and even the reliable Ravi Ashwin came in for some stick.

The pair put on 56 for the first wicket in under five overs, with Maddinson six four and a six in his 34. He was one shot too cocky though, swinging across the line to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who sent it full and straight.

Finch carried on well, but had to watch as his next few partners fell cheaply. Shane Watson and George Bailey departed for single figures in the same R Vinay Kumar over, before Glenn Maxwell joined Finch.

The duo added 40 runs in the next three-odd overs, with MAxwell living up to his nickname, The Big Show. He was not to last though, falling for 27 off 13 balls, including four sixes, caught by Ishant Sharma off Ravi Jadeja.

After Brad Haddin and Moises Henriques added five and 12 respectively, Finch found himself 11 runs short of another T20 century. He went for 89 off 52 balls, caught and bowled by Vinay Kumar.

Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Faulkner made sure the score went over 200, with Faulkner hitting Ishant for six off the final ball to take them to 201 for seven. Ishant ended with dire figures of 0/52 in four overs.

India's reply got off to a poor start when Rohit Sharma fell in the second over for eight, but after that everyone who batted contributed with double figures, allowing Yuvraj to free his arms with support at the other end.

Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina added 32 and 19 respectively, while Virat Kohli's 29 and MS Dhoni's 24 not out also made for pleasant watching. But it was Yuvraj who captured the imagination, hitting five huge sixes.

By the time the final over came around, Yuvraj and Dhoni had made sure that only seven runs were required. Yuvraj got a single early on in the over, and his skipper wrapped up the game with a four and a two.

Australia's bowlers were not impressive, with Clint McKay taking two wickets but also going for 50 runs. Watson was the most economical, but even he went for 7.90 to the over. They will need to do better when the ODIs start on 13 October.

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Ravi Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Bhuveneshwar Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Ishant Sharma

Australia: Nic Maddinson, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin, Moises Henriques, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty