India vs Australia: A statistical look at the 1st T20I

A valiant batting effort from Ravindra Jadeja followed by an equally prodigious spell by his concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal and Thangarasu Natarajan guided India to an impressive 11-run victory in the 1st T20I against Australia.

India were put into bat first by the Aussies and despite losing two early wickets, they managed to keep the run-rate above-par. Opener KL Rahul played his part, but it was Ravindra Jadeja's performance that took India out of their misery. The all-rounder walked in to bat when India were 92/5 after 14 overs. Six over later India were posted 161/7.

The talking point, however, came when India brought Yuzvendra Chahal in the XI for the second innings, replacing Jadeja who took a hit on his helmet by a Mitchell Starc delivery. No concussion test was conducted at the time of the incident, but much to Australia's disarray, match referee David Boon approved India's request to bring the leggie in.

A win is a win no matter how or by how many though, and here we take a look at some detailed statistics from the game:

KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja's anchoring innings

While others around him kept on falling, opener KL Rahul scored 51 off 40 balls to the keep the hopes alive. The 28-year-old smashed five fours and one six while completing 1000 T20 runs in 2020. He is only the second batsman to reach the milestone in the year after Pakistan's Babar Azam. Here's a look at the highest run-scorers in T20 cricket in 2020:

Ravindra Jadeja's performance underlines how deep India's batting order can be. After playing a match-winning partnership at the same venue against the same opponent in the final ODI a couple of days ago, the all-rounder was at it once again. Jadeja scored an unbeaten 44 off 23 balls, an innings that included five fours and one six. This is now the highest score by an Indian batting at no. 7 against Australia, and third-best overall. Of his 44 runs, a whopping 39 came against the pacers with a certain Josh Hazlewood leaking the most (25). By the end of the 18th over, India had 127 on board, but Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood leaked 34 runs combined in the final two overs.

Natarajan and Chahal the shining light

Defending 161 against Australia can rightly be an arduous task, but Yuzvendra Chahal and Thangarasu Natarajan made sure India walk home with a win without breaking a sweat. Natarajan, in his four overs, picked three wickets for 30 while Chahal also picked three, but conceded just 16, delivering the most economical spell of the night. And with his three-wicket haul, the 29-year-old left-arm seamer became only the seventh player to pick three plus wickets on T20I debut for India, and second after Bumrah against Australia.

For Chahal, he delivered his best bowling spell against Australia in the T20Is. Prior to tonight's game, Chahal had just two wickets in four games against the Aussies. Here's a look at his performance against Australia in T20Is:

India's unbeaten run continues

A win on Friday means India have now won their ninth T20I game on the trot (excluding the no result game vs SL on 5th Jan 2020 at Guwahati). Their last defeat came against West Indies at Thiruvananthapuram in 2019, and since then, the team has defeated Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia in the format. The Men in Blue not only built on their record but also halted Australia's run of form at home. A defeat means the Aussies lost their first home T20I since 2019. 

Furthermore, this was India's sixth T20I victory over Australia at their own turf, which is the most by any visiting team in the format.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / David Gray