What a performance by Team India. Led by Rohit Sharma, who smacked the bowlers for fun today, and Axar Patel with the ball in hand, India chased down 91 runs with 4 balls to spare. The caravan now moves onto Hyderabad. Until then, this is Kartik Mehindru, signing off.
Well, Karthik doesn't wait long. A six off the first ball and a boundary on 2nd. India win by 6 wickets.
Cummins to bowl the penultimate over and Hardik smacks him for a boundary over deep cover. Hardik falls. India still need 14 off 7 balls. Karthik walks in. Can he be the hero? Rohit finishes the over off with a boundary. Only 9 needed now.
Abbott comes into the attack and feeds Rohit with short balls who takes full toll of it. 2 boundaries for the Hitman and India are now marching along pretty nicely. 11 off the over. IND need 22 runs in the last 2 overs.
Well, Australia are back in the game after that Zampa over. Kohli and SKY are back in the hut. Onus on Hardik and Rohit here. 7 off the over. IND need 33 runs in 18 balls.
Another match, and another instance of Kohli falling to Zampa. Alas, he was so good. Well well well, Zampa now sends SKY packing on the very next ball. The Kangaroos are back in the game.
Rohit is toying with the field. Hazlewood bowled it short and slow outside off and the Hitman just waits and carves it between backward point and short-third man for a boundary. Virat Kohli joins the act now and hits the bowler straight for a four. 11 off the over.
Finch opts for spin and Adam Zampa comes into the attack. No change in result though as Rohit launches the ball straight over long-off. Absolutely terrific stuff from the Indian skipper.
There it is. First wicket for AUS. Zampa sends Rahul packing. Kohli walks in, and takes a single on his first ball.
Pat Cummins comes into the attack, and Rohit greets him with a monstrous six on the 3rd ball. Well, other than that six from Rohit, Cummins has bowled a pretty great over. 10 off it.
Rohit and KL are in the middle to start things for India. KL on strike, A single to start the over. Rohit almost edges it to the keeper on the second ball, but literally launches it out of the ground for a maximum 2nd ball. Another maximum. 2 in 2 for Rohit. Hazlewood and Australia under the pump here. WOW! KL joins the act. Trademark flick shot and it doesn't get better than this. 20 off the over and India are off and running.
It is a stiff target, to be honest. Indian batters will have to be at their very best to chase it. Onus on openers, SKY and Hardik.
Harshal Patel will bowl the final over of the day. A single to start the over. Wade deposits the very next ball into the stands over mid-wicket. Short and wide, but such is his form that he picks the length early and smacks it. Another six from Wade. This one was even better than the last time. WOW! Another six - 3rd off the over. 1st one was over mid-wicket, 2nd one over point, and 3rd one over deep mid-wicket. What a show Wade is putting on here. Pure madness. Ends the over with a run-out.
AUS set 91 for IND to chase.
Bumrah is back for his final over of the day. Second ball and Smith wanted to launch it into space. The ball takes the edge and flies to third man for a boundary. Searing yorker next ball, and Smith falls over trying to execute a lemon cut. Bowls a full toss to Wade on the very next ball and he carves it between point and cover for a boundary. 12 off the over.
Harshal comes into the attack, and Wade greets him with a boundary through backward point. Again, he is just feeding him with length balls and Wade will hit him all day and night there. 13 off the over.
Alright, Bumrah is here to bowl his first over. Pretty late to be honest. Finch takes him on and sends the ball flying over point for a boundary. And yes....HE IS BACK! Searing yorker to send back Finch. Vintage Bumrah! India on top.
Axar sent back Tim David and almost bowled a wicket-maiden in a 8-over match. This is atrocious bowling. Wade, though, executes a reverse sweep to end the over with a boundary.
Axar is turning it up here and Australia look clueless. They have no idea what has hit them. What a performance. First, he sent back Green & Maxwell, and now it's Tim David's turn to go back.
The last over by Axar has definitely slowed the Kangaroos down. Finch is still there though, and Tim David has joined him. Let's see what this duo can do.
Axar has sent both Green & Maxwell packing. What an over.
Aaron Finch(c), Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Daniel Sams, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
India have won the toss and opted to bowl first
'The ground staff tried a lot, but the outfield is not drying up as expected,' said one umpire. The other said, 'The next inspection is at 8:45 PM.' If we don't get ball one by 9:46 PM, the match will be called off. To be honest, it isn't looking good.
Not that it would go there, but the cut-off time for a 5-over game is 9:46 PM.
In case you're wondering, right now, the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is the only venue in India to have a world-class SubAir drainage system. With all the funds available, this is certainly very disappointing.
Second inspection will be at 8 PM. It is now expected to be a short game.
The officials are out there. Let's hope for a positive news.
Before we deep dive into all the action, here is something for you to think and ponder over.
The toss has been delayed owing to wet outfield and the next inspection is scheduled for 7 PM.
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