Australia set a challenging target of 208 runs, powered by Josh Inglis' exceptional century. However, India successfully chased it down, marking a historic win by two wickets.
Prior to this match, India's previous successful chase of a 200-plus target was against the West Indies in Hyderabad during the first T20I in 2019. Back then, Virat Kohli's unbeaten 94 and KL Rahul's impressive half-century helped India chase down 208 runs.
On Thursday, skipper Suryakumar top-scored with a 42-ball 80 and was supported by Ishan Kishan who scored a brilliant 39-ball 58 to guide India home, with Rinku Singh finishing things off with a crucial cameo of 22 runs in just 14 balls.
The 209 run chase against Australia is now the most successful run chase of 200 or more in T20Is for India. Apart from Thursday’s encounter and the Hyderabad one, India chased down 207 against Sri Lanka in Mohali (2009), 204 against New Zealand in Auckland (2020) and 202 against Australia in Rajkot (2013).
India will now travel to Thiruvananthapuram for the second T20I on Sunday and then play at Guwahati. The team will then travel to Raipur for the fourth match with Bengaluru hosting the final T20I.
For both sides, this series has marked the start of preparations for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in June next year.
