The first T20 of Australia's tour of India began with Aussies winning the toss and opting to field first. Despite losing opener Rohit Sharma for 5(8), KL Rahul 50(36) and skipper Virat Kohli 24(17) forged a stand to help India do damage control before both were claimed by Counter Nile and Zumba.
What followed next was nothing short of a disaster, as the Indian batsmen fell like a pack of cards, barring MS Dhoni who remained unbeaten on 29(37), while the others could not score double-digit scores. India ended at 126/7, with Counter Nile claiming 3/26. It should be noted that India never scored a boundary except a single six in the last 10 overs. Dhoni even denied the singles and his Tuk-Tuk batting was criticized.
Australia lost opener Stoinis 1(5) and Finch 0(1), Maxwell and Short forged an all important partnership, before Maxwell fell for 56(43) and short departed for 37(37). Chahal, Pandya and Bumrah threatened Aussies thereafter, and after Handscomb was dismissed, they were shaken. However, the team held nerves and achieved a victory by 3 wickets reaching 127/7 with Bumrah picking 3/16.
