India vs Australia, T20 World Cup warm-up: Mohammed Shami’s over, Virat Kohli’s screamer and other talking points

Team India got their T20 World Cup preparations off to an ideal start with a six-run win over hosts Australia in the first of their two warm-up matches on Monday in Brisbane.

Aaron Finch and Co were running away with the game for the most part and appeared destined to collect a comfortable victory. The Men in Blue, however, did not give up till the very end, producing a sensational comeback in the death overs to finish on top.

While some concerns continue to linger, both in the batting and bowling departments, India no doubt will be buoyed by the kind of fightback that they displayed against the defending T20 world champions in their own backyard, and will look to carry the momentum into their next practice game against last-year’s runners-up New Zealand on Wednesday before taking on Pakistan in a blockbuster opening clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this Sunday.

Here are five talking points from the India-Australia warmup clash:

KL, Surya ooze class

While the bowling department was a bit of a worry for the Indians heading into the marquee tournament, the batters were faring quite well in their home fixtures in the build-up to the tournament. And they continued to shine on Monday as opener KL Rahul and middle-order bat Suryakumar Yadav slammed fifties to guide India to a competitive total of 186/7.

Rahul’s was a one-man show during the powerplay, with skipper Rohit Sharma getting reduced to a supporting role, as the vice-captain’s confident strokeplay — consisting of three maximums and twice as many fours — helped India score at more than 10-an-over during his stay at the crease. And Surya simply carried on from where Rahul left off, propelling the Men in Blue through the middle overs after a mini-collapse, helping India cross the 180-mark.

Kane Richardson stands out among Aussie quicks

In a game featuring the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, it was Kane Richardson who finished the pick of the Aussie bowlers as he collected 4/30, two of which came in the final over.

After starting off with a wide in the second over of the powerplay, the South Australian was brought back in the 14th over of the innings, striking right away in his new spell as he deceived hard-hitting all-rounder Hardik Pandya with a slower ball.

Richardson continued to get the better of the Indian batters with his variations, dismissing Dinesh Karthik with a full delivery in the 17th, getting rid of a set Surya with a slower full toss in the fourth ball of the final over before dismissing Ravichandran Ashwin with a length ball outside off off the last ball.

India’s powerplay woes

While the Men in Blue fought back valiantly in the business end of the gam, their bowling performance in the powerplay, unfortunately, wasn’t quite up to the mark and remains an area of concern.

Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh started off on a tidy note with nine runs coming off the first two overs. The floodgates would then open in the third over with Pandya being taken to the cleaners by Finch and Marsh, 18 coming off it.

Harshal Patel would then get smacked for a four and a six by Aussie skipper Finch to 11 off his over while Ashwin would concede clonsecutive fours in a 14-run fifth over. Marsh would then smash a four and a six off Bhuvneshwar in the sixth as the defending T20 world champs raced to 64/1 at the end of the powerplay.

Aaron Finch’s return to form

Skipper Aaron Finch’s form has been a real worry for the Aussies for the most part this year, so much so that he has had to retire from the ODI format.

Finch, however, led from the front in Monday’s warmup game against India, producing a flamboyant 76 off 54 balls to signal his return to form and silence his critics for now and show that he still belongs to the shortest format. The Aussie skipper was responsible for getting his side off to a confident start alongside Marsh, and continued to steer the team through the middle overs in cruise mode after his opening partner departed.

Finch collected seven fours and three maximums during his stay at the crease and by the time he departed at the start of the penultimate over of the chase, Australia were well in the driver’s seat, needing 16 off 11 with half of their wickets intact. If only Finch had stayed on till the very end…

Mohammed Shami’s brilliance

India looked down and out at the end of the 17th over. While the batters had done a fine job guiding them to a competitive total, the bowling unit failed to replicate their efforts, allowing Australia to dictate terms for two-thirds of their chase.

Things would change dramatically in the last two overs though.

Harshal Patel would set things up nicely with a superb penultimate over — something that the Indians had been failing in spectacularly in recent games. Patel got rid of a set Finch first ball, with Tim David getting run out by a superb direct hit from Virat Kohli in the very next delivery. Just five runs from the over along with two wickets.

Watch: Kohli’s stunning one-handed catch and direct hit in IND-AUS warmup match

Mohammed Shami would then be given the ball for the very first time in the game, and boy would he bowl an over to remember. The veteran seamer was on target in every delivery, restricting Cummins’ scoring areas and allowing him only a couple of doubles before the Test skipper holed out to Kohli at long on out of frustration, the former India captain pulling off a one-handed stunner.

Shami would then run Ashton Agar out with a direct hit at the non-striker’s end before castling Josh Inglis and Kane Richardson with consecutive yorkers.

There were those who had doubted his place in the Indian T20 side before the World Cup; Shami just silenced them without having to utter a word.