David Warner was a delighted man when Moises Henriques slammed one past Yuzvendra Chahal to hit the winning runs in just the 16th over of the innings in the second T20I at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday, October 10.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder was just the man, a calm and composed numer three batsman, Australia needed after their middle-order strugled against the Indian attack right from the first match of the tour in Chennai last month.
Henriques hit 62 off just 46 balls and put on an unbeaten 109-run stand with Travis Head, who hit 48 off 34, after the visitors lost Warner and Aaron Finch early in chase of an under-par target of 119.
Kuldeep Yadav (46 for 0) and Yuzvendra Chahal (29 for 0) were taken to the cleaners by the duo as the wrist-spinners struggled to deal with the dew at India's newest international cricket venue.
Behrendorff rises to the ocassion
However, the batsmen's job on a slow surface, which has often proved to be a nightmare for the visitors, was made easier after Jason Behrendorff ran through the Indian top-order with four wickets, including the price scalp of the Indian captain Virat Kohli, who did not trouble the scorers on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old pacer was on fire as he troubled the Indian batsmen with his late in-swing in Guwahati, which offered a lot for the bowlers. Behrendorff removed both Rohit Sharma (8) and Kohli as early as in the first over. He then came back in the third over to remove Manish Pandey for 6, before sending back in-form Shikhar Dhawan for 2 in the fifth over.
India were never able to recover from the early blow despite MS Dhoni (13) and Kedar Jadhav (27) stitching a 33-run stand for the fifth wicket. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa joined the party as he removed the former with a ball that turned sharply. He then sent Jadhav walking back to the pavilion with a wrong'un that crashed into the stumps.
Hardik Pandya, who has been proving his ability with the bat in pressure situations, waged a lone battle before he fell to Marcus Stoinis in the 18th over. Tail-ender Kuldeep Yadav added 16 crucial runs, but the total was not enough for India at the country's newest international venue.
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