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GUWAHATI: Marriage is in the air in this auspicious month of November in many parts of the country. Alas, if there was a marriage between the efforts of Team India batters and bowlers in the ongoing T20I series, the hosts would have been well served. After winning the first two games despite the bowlers’ below-par performance, India suffered their first loss of the series as they went down to Australia by five wickets after scoring 222 for three on being asked to bat first at Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden international ton went in vain as Glenn Maxwell turned on his ‘Mad Max’ mode with able support from skipper Matthew Wade as Australia clinched a last-ball thriller to keep the series alive with two matches to go.
With his 57-ball 123*, Gaikwad carried his bat through and became the first Indian to score a century against the Australians in the shortest format. However, he ended up scoring his first T20I ton in a losing cause.
On a placid track, India got off to a good start scoring 14 runs off the first over, but Jason Behrendorff gave the visitors their first breakthrough when an out-of-position Yashasvi Jaiswal returned trying for a shot over cover. No. 3 Ishan Kishan lasted only five balls.
Thereafter, captain Suryakumar Yadav joined hands with Gaikwad to take the side to 80 runs in 10 overs with his trademark shots around the park for a 29-ball 39 before he edged pacer Aaron Hardie behind. Vice-captain Gaikwad, playing second fiddle to skipper SKY thus far, shifted gears then.
Scoring his first 21 runs in as many balls, Gaikwad played some stylish shots with aplomb to score his next 102 runs in just 32 balls as India amassed 90 runs in the last five overs. The 18th over by Hardie brought 25 runs while the last by Maxwell fetched 30 – most of the innings.
Gaikwad, certain to lose his vice-captaincy once Shreyas Iyer returns in the next game, hit 13 fours and seven sixes in the process and shared an unbeaten 141-run stand with Tilak Varma with the Hyderabadi left-hander scoring only 31 of those runs in 24 balls.
All the Aussie bowlers were taken to cleaners barring Behrendroff, who was the standout performer returning figures of 4-1-12-1.
Chasing 223 to keep the series alive, Travis Head, so far only travelling with the squad post his man-of-the-match performance in the World Cup final, started from where he had left. He gave Aussies a head start as they reached 50 runs in just 4.3 overs and touched 100 in 9.3 overs.
Bishnoi bowled well to give two timely breakthroughs in the form of first-game centurion Josh Inglis and then Suryakumar caught Tim David for a golden duck. But Maxwell, known for his knack of winning matches from tough positions, hung in and dished out a fantastic win in the end scoring 104 not out in 48 balls.
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