Suryakumar Yadav-led Team India had the opportunity to seal the ongoing five-match T20I series when they locked horns against Australia in the third T20I on Tuesday (November 28) in Guwahati.
The Men in Blue were looking destined to win the game and clinch the series after a stunning century from Ruturaj Gaikwad helped them post a huge total of 222 for 3 in the allotted 20 overs. Asked to bat first, the Men in Blue were off to a poor start as they lost the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal (6) and Ishan Kishan (0) cheaply. Suryakumar Yadav got the start but failed to make the most of it and departed for 39.
However, Ruturaj Gaikwad remained firm at one end and went on to score his maiden T20I century to propel India to a big total. He remained unbeaten on 123 runs off just 57 balls. The right-handed batsman also shared an unbeaten stand of 141 runs with Tilak Varma who scored 31.
The 222-run total, however, was not enough for Team India as Australia clinched a thrilling last-ball win. The architect of the win was Glenn Maxwell who smashed an unbeaten 104 runs off just 48 balls. He became the joint fastest Australian player to complete a century in the history of T20Is joining Aaron Finch and Josh Inglis.
Suryakumar Yadav explains Team India’s loss:
Following the unexpected loss after scoring the huge total, Suryakumar Yadav hailed Maxwell for his stunning knock. With a smile on his face, the India captain said:
“The plan was to get Maxi out as quickly as possible (laughs). But when you’re defending 222 with so much dew you have to give something to the bowlers. I felt like how we played at Trivandrum, there was heavy dew, they lost wickets early but wickets in hand for them meant they were always in the game. I told the boys in the drinks break to get Maxwell out quickly but that was insane.”
India will be looking to get back to winning ways in the fourth T20I. The penultimate match of the five-match series is scheduled to take place on Friday (December 1) in Raipur.
