On Thursday, Team India defeated Australia by two wickets in the opening T20I of the five-match series at Vishakapatnam. The Men in Blue achieved their biggest successful run chase in the format by lowering the Aussies’ 209-run goal.
After Suryakumar Yadav opted to bowl first, Steve Smith’s heroics as an opener, along with Josh Inglis’ record-equaling ton, powered Australia to a dominant score.
The new captain followed the talk by leading the run chase and was joined by Ishan Kishan, who contributed a half-century. While Team India nearly blew the run chase in the last overs, Rinku Singh’s calmness enabled the hosts cross the line with a ball to spare.
On that topic, here are the top five reactions to India’s maiden T20I victory against Australia.
1. Dinesh Karthik
The legendary Indian wicketkeeper-batter told a touching anecdote about Rinku Singh and Abhishek Nayar’s friendship. The duo had been teammates with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for many years and were spotted hugging after the game. As part of the broadcast crew, Nayar was present at the venue.
Karthik took to Twitter to describe how Nayar and Rinku’s friendship developed over time.
“This is one of the most fulfilling and heart warming pictures going around. The relationship between ABHISHEK NAYAR n RINKU SINGH.”It was a partnership that started in 2018 during my time in KKR. Nayar always saw the potential in Rinku , he kept telling me, it was only a matter of time before he did something really special,” he wrote.
Dinesh Karthik
Rinku, who led KKR in run scoring in 2023, is very set to be retained and will be reunited with Nayar in IPL 2024.
2. Aakash Chopra
Former Indian opener Praveen Kumar lauded newcomers Rinku Singh and Mukesh Kumar for their efforts in the first T20I. While Rinku has established into a finishing role for India’s second-string side, Mukesh contributed a thrifty period in a high-scoring encounter.
Aakash Chopra singled out the couple for particular attention on his YouTube channel.
“The way he batted under pressure, for me, the two biggest stars of this match were Mukesh Kumar and Rinku Singh.Mukesh Kumar was the best bowler in the entire match. He conceded five runs in the last over which had seven balls – a no-ball and a free hit – but despite that, only five runs. The way he was bowling yorkers consistently at the right spot, it seemed like it was a machine.”
Aakash Chopra
In the first innings, Mukesh delivered a stunning last over. He was able to land yorkers to Tim David and only gave up five runs in the over to end with stats of 0-29 from four overs.
3. Abhishek Nayar
The veteran all-rounder praised his pupil Rinku Singh and even predicted that he will play for India as a full-time finisher in the future, a job that MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya have done effectively in the past.
“It takes a lot of character. We speak about someone, who has done it in the IPL and domestic cricket. Just to see Rinku hold his nerve and to have the have the composure shows that he has grown leaps and bounds.”
“It’s the third time he has done this for India, the third time India needed him to do something special and he turned up. He hasn’t played international cricket for five to seven years, but has the maturity and skillet of someone who has played that long.”
Abhishek Nayar
Rinku struck an undefeated 22 from 14 deliveries, but his immaculate last-ball six was not added to his account because Sean Abbott delivered a no-ball, thereby terminating the match.
4. Simon Katich
While India won, it is difficult to forget Josh Inglis’ stunning performance in the early half of the game. Following Matt Short’s departure, the wicketkeeper-batter batted at No. 3 and took on the bowling assault from the start.
He reached his century in 47 deliveries, which is the joint-fastest for Australia alongside Aaron Finch.
Simon Katich, a former Australia all-rounder, spoke on Jio Cinema:
“He was excellent right from the word go tonight. He scored all around the wicket. Against pace and spin, his timing was spot on, he opened the blade beautifully to access the off-side. Then he had the power game through the leg side as well as we see it in the highlights.”
Simon Katich
Inglis finished with 110 runs from 50 deliveries, 11 fours and eight sixes.
5. Parthiv Patel
The former India wicketkeeper-batter addressed the elephant in the room, stating how difficult it is for the squad to perform in such a short period of time following the rigorous World Cup campaign.
Suryakumar Yadav, in particular, was close to the event, having been a member of Team India’s playing XI for the final and now being tasked with leading the T20I side.
According to Parthiv on Cricbuzz:
“It is very difficult to get out of the World Cup loss. The way India were playing, everyone was expecting them to win. Even Suryakumar Yadav spoke about how it’s not going to heal overnight. He himself would be slightly disappointed as whatever was expected out of him, didn’t happen. But when the T20 format comes in, he plays those angles really well.”
“Mental toughness and self-belief are very, very important when you are playing after the trauma of losing a World Cup final. It’s not easy. But you have to give credit to Suryakumar Yadav for how he has handled himself and once again showed how good a player he is.”
Parthiv Patel
Suryakumar demonstrated why he is the world’s top T20I batsman with an 80-run knock off 42 deliveries.