7:caption
Team India put up a splendid show on display as they defeated Australia by 9 wickets in their second and final warm-up match ahead of the main event of T20 World Cup 2021. Only the toss went in favour of Australia on Wednesday as India seized everything that followed.
After winning the toss, Australia skipper Aaron Finch decided to bat first. Despite 57 off 48 from Steve Smith, the side got restricted to 152/5 in the stipulated 20 overs. Ravichandran Ashwin's double strike had a big role to play in that as he dismissed opener David Warner (1) and Mitchell Marsh (0) in successive deliveries to dent Australia's innings at the very beginning. Though Smith did well to stitch a 61 runs for the fourth wicket with Glenn Maxwell, and 76-run stand for the next wicket with Marcus Stoinis, it all wasn't enough for the Aussies to reach a target that could trouble India. Maxwell scored 37 off 28 while Marcus Stoinis hit 41* off 25 towards the end.
In reply, Rohit Sharma scored 60 off 41 balls before getting retired hurt and see India eventually bag the warm-up game against Australia by a convincing margin. Opener KL Rahul also contributed with a 39 off 31 as India chased down 153 with 9 wickets in hand and 13 balls to spare. Suryakumar Yadav also scored 38* off 27 towards the end, while Hardik Pandya found his rhythm in the final ball of the match by hitting a six straight down the ground to seal the game in favour of India. Ashton Agar was the pick of bowlers for Australia with 1/14 in 2 overs.
Given that India already came into the game with a 7-wicket win over England, the fans took Wednesday's win over Australia as an opportunity to troll Pakistan cricket team who are set to face the Men in Blue on October 24 in the tournament proper.
Here are some of the best tweets:
It is worth noting that during the game, Dhoni was seen working with Rishabh Pant to help the latter with his wicketkeeping skills. However, the action was taking place outside boundary line as Ishan Kishan had donned the gloves for India in the match. Taking the moment into account, fans also pulled Pant's leg.