The drama surrounding in India’s tour of Australia doesn’t bother to stop as Yuzvendra Chahal’s three-wicket spell was enough to restrict the Australians from chasing down a total of 162. What was even more shocking about Chahal was that he wasn’t even supposed to play in this game but ended up being the concussion substitute to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who suffered a blow on his head during his crucial knock of 44 runs off 23 deliveries.
It all started at the toss when Australia’s skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to field first. India went with quite a few changes to their squad just like Australia from the players that featured in the final ODI at Canberra. After losing the toss, India batted first and didn’t have the most ideal start as opener batter Shikhar Dhawan lost his wicket very early on in the innings as he was cleaned up by speedster Mitchell Starc.
Followed by which Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey’s wickets fell in quick succession. In the end, it was all down to Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya yet again but this time Jadeja was the one who did the bulk of the scoring as he notched up 44 runs in no time to help India post a total of 162 runs which was pretty much decent.
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In return, the Australian innings started with a little drama as coach Justin Langer was quite miffed with match referee David Boon allowing a concussion replacement to the Indian team for Ravindra Jadeja since he did not leave the field after getting hit on the head.
But as many said the inclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal turned out to be a blessing in disguise for India as he picked three crucial wickets of Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and Matthew Wade. In the end, Australia fell short of 11 runs as Chahal was awarded the man of the match award for his performance.
I bowled according to my plans – Yuzvendra Chahal
After the match, during the post-match presentation, Chahal said how 15 mins before the start of the 2nd innings he knew he was going to play which is why he was mentally prepared. Chahal further added how he did exactly what Adam Zampa did during India’s batting though it was easier for the Australians to bat in the 2nd innings than it did for the Indians in the first innings.
“I have played so many games and was mentally fit. 10-15 minutes before the start of the innings, I got to know I will play. The way Zampa bowled, I tried to do the same as well. It was a little harder to score in the first innings. 150-160 is a good score on this wicket. I bowled according to my plans,” Yuzvendra Chahal said.
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