India skipper Virat Kohli felt stumper Rishabh Pant’s wicket was the turning point in their narrow 4-run loss to Australia in the rain-affected first T20 International at the Gabba here on Wednesday.

Australia rode on a collective top order effort to post 158/4 in 17 overs before the target was readjusted to 174 for India under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Dinesh Karthik and Pant were responsible for bringing India’s chase back to life after hammering Andrew Tye for 25 runs in the 14th over. However, the latter’s dismissal bought the home side back in contest.

“It was a close game, was a see-saw battle. Started well with the bat, fumbled in the middle overs, in the end we thought we’ll win with Pant and Karthik but it changed again with Pant’s dismissal,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.

The India skipper also praised opener Shikhar Dhawan, who top scored for the tourists with a 42-ball 76, laced with 10 fours and two sixes.

“He’s (Dhawan) a very strong player at the top of the order. Hasn’t got a T20 hundred yet, but the way he plays it really benefits the team,” the 30-year-old opined.

“That’s how it goes in the game. What we can do is to learn from them (mistakes) and get back better,” Kohli added.

Meanwhile, Australia skipper Aaron Finch felt his bowlers performed well in crunch situation, resulting in their win.

“Thought the boys played really well, especially in the middle overs with the bat. Showed a lot of courage to take it on. Some of our bowling was outstanding under pressure,” Finch said.

The two sides will play the second T20I on Friday in Melbourne.

IANS

Rain halted a perfect start by Australia in the first Twenty20 International match against India here on Wednesday. Australia were 153/3 in 16.1 overs when the sky opened up.

Australia were going hammer and tongs in the last few overs when Glenn Maxwell (46) and Marcus Stoinis (31) were hitting their shots at will before the showers started.

For India, Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav scalped two wickets and pacer Khaleel Ahmed took one.

The tickets for the opening ceremony of the men’s hockey World Cup to be held at Kalinga Stadium on November 27 and World Cup Celebrations on November 28 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack were sold out in just a few hours after going live online.

In view of public demand, the ticket sales for both the events went live on Tuesday.

Within a few hours, all tickets for both the events were sold out. The online redemption of the tickets for the opening ceremony will be from Thursday at the Kalinga Athletics Stadium while the redemption centres in Cuttack for the World Cup Celebrations event will be announced later.

Music Maestro A.R. Rahman will be performing both at the opening ceremony and at the World Cup Celebrations event. Many other prominent Bollywood celebrities will attend both the events.

Australia-bound India pacer Mohammed Shami on Wednesday courted controversy by bowling more than his stipulated 15 overs in Bengal’s Group B Ranji Trophy tie against Kerala at the Eden Gardens here.

An integral part of India’s Test setup, Shami was asked by the BCCI to play the ongoing Ranji Trophy match against Kerala on the condition that he would bowl 15-17 overs per innings.

On Wednesday, Shami rolled his arms for 26 overs in the first innings.

“When you are playing a match for your state, the important thing is to fulfil your responsibility,” said Shami returning with 26-3-100-3 at the end of day 2.

“I was also feeling well and had no discomfort. The wicket was also doing well so I continued as long as I could… I decided on my own,” added Shami, who is India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests this year.

Shami said it was best to bowl in a match than in practice.

“It was better to bowl for your team and state rather than practising somewhere else… The more you bowl here the better it will help in Australia. It was a good preparation. For me bowling in a match is the best preparation. I prefer that any day.”

“I was feeling well to bowl at home after a long time. All my friends were here. It was after a long time I could play with my team,” Shami added.

Shami is the leading Indian wicket taker in Tests this year with 33 wickets in nine games.

Talking about his preparation for the Test series beginning next month Down Under, he said, “I’ve prepared well, had good training and match preparation. I’ve a practice match there. I will be ready for the Tests.”

Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule also played down the issue.

“He was absolutely willing to bowl so he continued. Nobody put pressure on him,” Bahutule said.

IANS