India's Virat Kohli, second left, celebrates with teammates after defeating Australia in their one day international cricket match at Manuka Oval in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. India won the match by 13 runs
Team India finally heaved a sigh of relief with a victory in Canberra on Wednesday, their first since the start of the Australia tour where they previously lost twice in Sydney in near-identical manner. And captain Virat Kohli couldn't feel more pleased praising about the manner in which his men scripted in a comeback when twice put under pressure by the hosts.
Unlike the previous two matches, India found a wicket in the first powerplay and then dismissed Steve Smith early in his innings. India slowly gaine momentum with subsequent dismissals of Moises Henriques, skipper Aaron Finch and Cameron Green, but Glenn Maxwell once again posed a huge threat with his switch-hit play that helped him score a third consecutive fifty.
Maxwell's aggressive show did not just revive Australia it put them on the brink of a historic cleansweep ove the Indians before Jasprit Bumrah dismissed him with a perfect yorker. Australia eventually lost the plot with no premier batsmen around and fell 13-run short of the target.
Earlier in the game, India, after opting to bat first, revived brilliantly under the guidance of Kohli following the dismissals of the openers to take India to 114 for three in 22.4 overs. But Aussies bounced back with dismissals of the skipper, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul to send the visitors five down for 152 runs in 32 overs. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja then stitched a 150-run unbeaten stand to guide India to 302 for five.
"It's particularly pleasing that we were under the pump for the first half of our innings, and second half of Australia's, and we fought back both times. One guy making his debut, Shubman coming back, that brought us some freshness. I think the pitch was much better in terms of helping the bowlers, so obviously the confidence levels go up. We were able to put Australia under pressure because of that fact as well. Playing international cricket for 13-14 years, you should be able to come back like we did," said Kohli.
Kohli then praised the manner in which Jadeja and Hardik launched India's comeback tale with a record partnership.
"I would have liked to go on for a bit longer, but we had a great partnership between Hardik and Jadeja. It was exactly what the team needed to get that boost, even though we've lost the series. We played with heart and desire, and that's what you need to do in Australia," he added.
