INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Maxwell's 48-ball 104* fashions victory for Australia to keep T20I series aliveGUWAHATI: Marriage is in the air in this auspicious month of
November in many parts of the country
Alas, if there was a marriage between the efforts of Team India batters and bowlers in the ongoing T20I series, the hosts would have been
down to Australia by five wickets after scoring 222 for three on being asked to bat first at Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.Ruturaj
Australia clinched a last-ball thriller to keep the series alive with two matches to go
With his 57-ball 123*, Gaikwad carried his bat through and became the first Indian to score a century against the Australians in the
However, he ended up scoring his first T20I ton in a losing cause
On a placid track, India got off to a good start scoring 14 runs off the first over, but Jason Behrendorff gave the visitors their first
breakthrough when an out-of-position Yashasvi Jaiswal returned trying for a shot over cover
3 Ishan Kishan lasted only five balls
Thereafter, captain Suryakumar Yadav joined hands with Gaikwad to take the side to 80 runs in 10 overs with his trademark shots around the
park for a 29-ball 39 before he edged pacer Aaron Hardie behind
Vice-captain Gaikwad, playing second fiddle to skipper SKY thus far, shifted gears then
Scoring his first 21 runs in as many balls, Gaikwad played some stylish shots with aplomb to score his next 102 runs in just 32 balls as
India amassed 90 runs in the last five overs
Gaikwad, certain to lose his vice-captaincy once Shreyas Iyer returns in the next game, hit 13 fours and seven sixes in the process and
shared an unbeaten 141-run stand with Tilak Varma with the Hyderabadi left-hander scoring only 31 of those runs in 24 balls
All the Aussie bowlers were taken to cleaners barring Behrendroff, who was the standout performer returning figures of 4-1-12-1.Chasing 223
to keep the series alive, Travis Head, so far only travelling with the squad post his man-of-the-match performance in the World Cup final,
started from where he had left
He gave Aussies a head start as they reached 50 runs in just 4.3 overs and touched 100 in 9.3 overs.Bishnoi bowled well to give two timely
breakthroughs in the form of first-game centurion Josh Inglis and then Suryakumar caught Tim David for a golden duck
But Maxwell, known for his knack of winning matches from tough positions, hung in and dished out a fantastic win in the end scoring 104 not
