India skipper Suryakumar lost the toss again and was invited to bat. After a series of misfires, India found saviours in Shreyas Iyer (53; 37b; 5×4; 2×6) and cameo stars Jitesh Sharma (24) and Axar Patel (31). Restricted to 160/8, India defended the total as Australia finished with 154/8. At one point, the away side were relatively untroubled in the chase with Ben McDermott (54; 36b) having a go at the bowlers. But Indian pacers turned on the heat in the 14th over and Mukesh Kumar (3/32) with twin strikes of Matthew Short and Ben Dwarshuis in the 17th over changed the course of the match. Also, Mukesh bowled a seven-run miserly penultimate over and Arshdeep defended the 10 runs required of the last over.
The aspirational Indian batting line-up, which in the previous four matches had exhibited a brand of cricket which offered promise and showcased potential, failed to turn up. Instead, most of them looked at sea on a tricky surface which was slow and testing. It was a test of skill and application and the top and middle order, barring Iyer, failed to pass the test.
The openers – Yashasvi Jaiswal (21) and Rituraj Gaikwad (10) – played contrasting innings on a surface which was unlike the typical belter the venue offers. Gaikwad struggled to find the gaps and a slow outfield due to rain and overcast conditions didn’t help the cause either.
In contrast, Jaiswal heaved a massive maximum off Hardie over midwicket to warm-up for what could have been an innings which could have gone deep into the night. The southpaw, after smashing Jason Behrendorff (2/38) for a six and four, miscued a short ball high into the sky which didn’t go the distance and was taken with precision by Nathan Ellis.
Gaikwad joined Jaiswal in the dressing room after just three deliveries. Looking to break free, Gaikwad picked a delivery from Dwarshuis to hit it down the ground, but failed to get elevation or distance and ended up offering Behrendorff a regulation catch.
Suryakumar’s (5) dry run with willow in Raipur spilled over to Bengaluru. He was dropped by Ben McDermott, off the second ball he faced. But the big-hitting skipper failed to make use of the lifeline, with his attempted cut resulting in a low catch to McDermott.
At the other end, Iyer was unaffected by the chaos. With the scoreboard reading 46/3 in seven overs, it was imperative that Iyer mixed caution with aggression. For a couple of overs after Suryakumar’s dismissal runs dried up. Instead of throwing his bat at every delivery, Iyer, after spending 12 deliveries rotating strike, picked out Dwarshuis to up the momentum.
