After Tim David’s fiery fifty and Daniel Sams’ impactful cameo drove Australia to 186 for seven, India lost both their openers inside the powerplay for just 30 runs.
But Suryakumar Yadav continued his sublime form in white-ball cricket and combined with Virat Kohli in stunning fashion to revive India before Hardik Pandya provided the perfect finishing touch to help India claim the three-match T20I series in Hyderabad on Sunday. But more than the nail-biter of a victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, the wild staircase celebration of Kohli and Rohit Sharma broke the internet.
India needed 11 in the last over and with a well-set Kohli at strike, the pressure was rightly on bowler Daniel Sams. The fast bowler went with a slower one in the slot and Kohli dispatched it high over long-on for a six.
And just when it felt that India had gained the upper hand, Sams had the last laugh as he dismissed Kohli in the very next ball with a short and wide ball. Kohli walked back and was on his way to the dressing room when he was stopped by Rohit, who patted him on his back for the job he had done. Kohli sat there next to the captain.
Dinesh Karthik, who smashed 10 runs in two balls in the last match to end the chase, was touted to get the chase done with in the next ball but only managed a single before Sams managed a precious dot ball against Hardik in the fourth ball of the over. With 4 required off two, Sams went full and wide again and Hardik just stretched out his bat to nick it past short third man for the match and series-winning boundary.
Soon after the win, camera panned towards the dressing room where Kohli and Rohit celebrated the win together ecstatically and hugged each other as well.
“Biggest positive was different individuals stepping up and delivering. You feel good about it as a management. Margin of error in T20s is small. We took our chances, we were brave as well. Sometime it doesn’t come off. There are areas to improve as well. Not easy coming back after a break against a tough team,” Rohit said after the match.