MS Dhoni and Suryakumar Yadav share rare MCG T20I record – 17 years apart, both Indian skippers to…
The Indian men’s cricket team faced a disappointing defeat on Friday October 31 as Australia secured a four-wicket win in front of a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). With the victory, Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
After winning the toss, Australia opted to bowl first, and the move paid off perfectly. India’s batters struggled to handle the pace and bounce, were bowled out for just 125 runs despite a brilliant knock from Abhishek Sharma, who smashed 68 off 37 balls. The young opener’s innings stood out as India’s only major contribution with the bat.
Josh Hazlewood was the star performer for the hosts, claiming three wickets for just 13 runs in a fiery powerplay spell that put India on the back foot early.
During the chase, Australia lost a few wickets toward the end but still cruised to victory, reaching 126 for 6 in just 13.2 overs, with 40 balls to spare — a dominant performance from the home side.
Australia Create History at the MCG
Australia’s stunning chase was the second-fastest successful run chase against India in T20I history. The only quicker one also came from Australia – 17 years ago at the same venue. Back in 2008, under Michael Clarke’s captaincy, the Aussies chased down 75 runs with ease, winning by nine wickets and 53 balls to spare.
This latest victory adds to Australia’s dominance over India in T20 run chases. Out of the six fastest chases against India, four belong to Australia. They also became the first team to chase a total against India with more than 40 balls remaining – and have now done it twice.
Australia further set a new record by becoming the first team to chase a target of over 100 runs against India with 40 or more balls left, breaking New Zealand’s previous record of 33 balls, set exactly four years ago during the 2021 T20 World Cup.
India’s First MCG T20I Defeat in 17 Years
This was India’s first T20I defeat at the MCG in 17 years, their only other loss at the venue also coming in 2008 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy – against Australia.
In total, India have now played seven T20Is at the iconic Melbourne ground, registering four wins, two losses, and one no-result. Out of these, five matches have been against Australia, with India winning two.
During the 2022 T20 World Cup, India had memorable victories at the MCG, defeating Pakistan and Zimbabwe – but this time, Australia proved too strong.
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