Team India surely got the luck of the draw on Friday after Yuzvendra Chahal was picked as the concussion substitute for Ravindra Jadeja and ended up with a match-winning spell that folded Australia 11 runs short of the target at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Ravindra Jadeja got hit on his helmet en route to his match-defining 44 off 23 and Chahal was named as the concussion subsitute. Justin Langer looked miffed and had an animated discussion with match refree David Boon over the issue as there was no physio out to check on Jadeja's injury.
Captain Virat Kohli later clarified that Jadeja felt dizzy after the knock and is still was after the match ended. He then further added saying that Chahal was not part of India's plan for the Canberra game but the concussion subsitute rule seemed to give him a chance which eventually worked in India's favour.
"Jaddu got a knock on the side of the head. He was feeling dizzy, he still is. There were no plans of having Yuzi in the game. Concussion replacements are a strange thing. Today, it worked for us. Yuzi showed character to squeeze the opponents," Kohli said in the post-match presentation.
Chahal picked up three crucial wickets in his four-over spell - Aaron Finch for 35, Steve Smith for 12 and Matthew Wade for 7 - conceding only 25 runs at 6.20 runs per over and seven dot balls.
"I thought they had a great start. They were cruising. The batters offered us a few wickets. That is T20 cricket for you. In Australia, you need to play hard and show intensity till the end," Kohli added.
India now have a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.
