Wade stars in clinical Aussie win

Clothes were changed; the ball colour changed, the format was also changed, young players were flown in, even the ground was brand new but India’s losing streak in Australia didn’t end as they lost the first T20I at Stadium Australia in Sydney by 31 runs. After Mathew Wade’s solid half-century powered Australia to 171, India’s never got going in the chase and could only manage 140, despite MS Dhoni’s late blitz.

India started with the familiar pairing of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Given their recent form it was no surprise that Australia found a way through the opening partnership pretty early. Brett Lee slightly erred on second delivery of the innings to be dispatched for a boundary but bowled an absolute beauty to have Sehwag caught at first slip.

Gambhir and Kohli kept the chase going but in the sixth over, David Hussey had Gambhir caught at cover to trigger a collapse that saw India lose three wickets in a hurry. Strangely, it was not the pace and bounce that created the problems but the spin of Hussey and 40-year old, comeback man Brad Hogg proved hard to get away.

Partly because the ball didn’t come on and gripped on the surface, the Indian batsmen hit a wall. Virat Kohli holed out on a short ball and Rohit Sharma was foxed by a delivery that spun sharply. Three wickets for six runs put India under pressure as the required rate went out of the roof.

Daniel Christian removed Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja in successive overs to virtually end India’s hopes. Even though, MS Dhoni went berserk towards the end, it was a case of too little and too late. The India captain finished undefeated on 48.

The Australians bowled well as a unit and George Bailey impressed as captain, although the match was his international debut.

Earlier, wicket keeper batsman Mathew Wade’s 72 pushed Australia to decent total of 171. With helping hands from David Hussey and David Warner, Wade displayed his full array of strokes in a high-quality innings. Seen as a possible replacement for out-of-form Brad Haddin, Wade proved that he belonged to the highest level.

After asking Australia to bat under cloudy skies, MS Dhoni opened the bowling with R Ashwin. In the first over, Ashwin kept the openers on a tight leash. With David Warner at the crease, it was a matter of time before the fireworks started.

Two deliveries into the third over, Warner decided to go down town- an audacious change of stance and a right handed swipe sent the ball flying over the ropes. This outlandish shot was followed by two boundaries, albeit in a conventional manner as Australia raced off the blocks. However, Warner miscued an attempted hoick off Vinay Kumar to be caught for 25.

With Wade doing well at one end, Travis Birt kept the score moving with couple of big hits. After ten overs, Australia had moved to 79 for 2 even as Wade was joined by David Hussey after Birt’s dismissal.

Having got his eye in, Wade stepped up a gear by going after Jadeja in the thirteenth over. Two fours and a big six took Australia past three figures as his individual score passed fifty. Praveen Kumar too suffered in the next over, but a light drizzle intervened with Wade in full flow.

After the break, Wade faced only two deliveries as he was bowled trying to cut a Raina delivery that was too full. However, his 43-ball 72 laced with three sixes and five boundaries had put Australia in front. Even though, Wade’s departure slowed down the scoring a bit but David Hussey provided the finishing touches with a breezy 30-ball 42.

For India, Vinay Kumar and leggie Rahul Sharma hit the right areas but others including Praveen Kumar conceded far too many easy runs, resulting in a target that asked for a lot from the brittle Indian batting.