Virat Kohli couldn’t make much of an impact with his batting in the warm-up game against Australia in Brisbane on Monday but he turned the match around completely with his stunning fielding effort in the death overs of the match.
Batting first, India posted a total of 186/7, riding on fifties from KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav. Kohli looked good while at the crease but he got ultimately dismissed for 19 from 13 deliveries.
Australia needed to get off to a good start to chase the target down and they did so, as they put on an opening stand of 41 runs. Although they lost a couple of quick wickets, they had reached 97 by the 11th over. At 159/3 in the 17th over of the innings, it looked like they were in the driving seat. Skipper Aaron Finch was still there.
Things did change a bit when they lost Finch and Stoinis in quick succession for scores of 76 and 7. But Australia still had the likes of Tim David, Josh Inglis, Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins to come who were capable of scoring the remaining 15 runs in the next couple of overs.
This is where Kohli turned the match around. First, he effected a brilliant run out to send David back to the pavilion in the 19th over of the innings, and then he pulled off a sensational catch at the long on boundary to save a certain six and dismiss Pat Cummins at the same time.
The likes of Harshal Patel and Mohammed Shami also bowled two brilliant overs at the death, where Australia lost a total of six wickets to get bowled out for 180, just six runs short of India’s total.
Brief Scores
India 186/7 in 20 overs (Rahul 57, Suryakumar 50; Richardson 4/30)
Australia 180 All out in 20 overs (Finch 76, Marsh 35; Shami 3/4)
India won by six runs
The Indian junior women’s hockey team suffered a narrow defeat against Chile in a tense… Read More
Punjab Kings’ journey to the IPL 2025 final suffered a massive blow after a disappointing… Read More
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has expressed optimism about the future of Indian football, stating… Read More
It is time for the Eliminator of IPL 2025, and we have two sides who… Read More
Nine years after their last appearance in an IPL final, Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the… Read More
Royal Challengers Bengaluru fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has said playing in the IPL is not… Read More