India v Australia, 2017 2nd T20I: Who Said What

How often have we seen a new bowler run through the Indian batting lineup, today was one such day as Jason Behrendorff who made his debut in the Ranchi T20I dealt lethal blows right at the start of the inning. The pitch at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati bore a damp look with a lot of moisture and was expected to assist the bowlers. Australia made the most of it and had the Indian team on the knees inside 10 overs as they had half the Indian side back.

Behrendorff from the left-arm pacer’s angle brought the ball back into the right-handers and dismissed Rohit Sharma hitting his pads right in front of the wicket. Virat Kohli bagged his maiden duck in T20I cricket as he inside edged the second delivery he faced from the same bowler to be caught in follow through. He bowled his quota straight away and claimed 4 wickets, the pacer bowled 17 dot balls from 24.

The hosts could never recover from the initial blows he gave them and were bowled out for 118 in 20 overs. Chasing a mediocre total all Australia needed was a partnership and after both the openers David Warner and Aaron Finch were dismissed by the Indian new ball bowlers Travis Head and Moises Henriques promoted higher up in the order batted sensibly.

Once dew settled in it was tougher for the bowlers and an easy task for the duo as they took the visitors home with 8 wickets and 4.3 overs in hand. Henriques was unbeaten on 62 while Head had 48 runs in his account. With this win Australia levelled the series 1-1 and the last match in Hyderabad will decide who takes the series.

Indian captain Virat Kohli said:

“Not the performance we wished for. Australia were much better on the day. I don’t think we were good enough with the bat. The wicket was bit sticking to start. It was difficult for them as well, but after the dew set in, they got away.

The effort is to do that as a team, but we speak about when the situations are not in our favour is when we have to put 120% on the field. It’s the attitude that matters most and it’s something the team embraces. The ball to Rohit [from Behrendorff] was pretty good. He bowled in good areas, he was pretty tight, credit to him, getting wickets with the new ball and they built on that very well”

David Warner was pleased with the effort and said:

“Feels great. As I said at the toss, we had to bowl well and start well. And Dorff bowling there, taking four for in his first real spell. Really fantastic. he’s got the height, the bounce and the swing. He’s from Perth. He was really fantastic,” David Warner says. “Zampa did well later as well, his execution was spot on. Henriques, he showed his experience. I’ve used him in this role in the IPL as well. It looked an English wicket, soft and with moisture. We knew if we could get past the new ball we could do well

Man of the Match Jason Behrendorfff talking about his 4 for 21 said:

“Not too often I get in front of the cameras. It’s something I’ve got to work on. Nice to get one over on debut but obviously we lost then. It’s something I’ve been working hard at, putting on a brave face out there and not looking nervous. India are a very class team, nice to take wickets up front and giving the team a good start. Honour to play for my country and looking forward to doing it again”