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Cricket

'Rinku the Boss!' - Fans react as Rinku Sing seals India's win over Australia in 1st T20I with a last-ball six

Josh Inglis' record-breaking hundred went in vain as India's stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav continued his rich form in the shortest format.

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Mathew K
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India vs Australia 1st T20I (Source: Twitter)

India vs Australia 1st T20I (Source: Twitter)

A high-scoring encounter at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Australia made a game out of nothing towards the end as India fumbled after the wicket of Surykumar Yadav. Both India and Australia's players had their hearts racing but Rinku Singh was as cool as he took the Men in Blue over the line. The hosts defeated Australia by 2 wickets but this victory is not going to make up for their ODI World Cup final defeat against them a few days back.

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After electing to bat first, Steve Smith came in as the opener along with Matthew Short for Australia. Ravi Bishnoi provided the early breakthrough by dismissing Short in the fifth over. However, it sparked the fireworks in Vishakapatnam as Josh Inglis went berserk with some incredible hitting. The wicket-keeper batter was merciless right from the start, leaving no room for the Indian bowlers to breathe.

Inglis scored his maiden international century off just 47 balls - the joint-fastest T20I century by an Australian batter. He became the second non-opener to score a century in T20Is for Australia. Inglis was well supported by Steve Smith as the duo posted the fifth-highest partnership (130 runs) for Australia in this format. However, the latter was not in the flow as he took 41 balls to score 52 runs. His sluggish knock hurt the team as they could have scored at least 20 more runs with the kind of start they got from Inglis.

Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar kept India in the hunt 

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Chasing 209 wasn’t going to be easy and India got off to a horror start. A terrible mix-up between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad resulted in the latter getting out without facing a ball in the first over. Jaiswal had an aggressive start but failed to find the resistance. However, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar steadied the ship.

The two Mumbai Indians players added more than 100 runs for the third wicket and pulled India out of danger. Kishan was dismissed for 58 off 39 balls, but Surya took India to safety before being dismissed in the 18th over. Inglis' record-breaking hundred went in vain as India's stand-in skipper Suryakumar continued his rich form in the shortest format. The World No.1 T20I batter smashed 80 off just 42 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes. 

However, out of nowhere, Australia managed to create trouble as India lost a string of wickets. The game witnessed a dramatic turnaround towards the end, especially in the final over. India needed 7 runs off the last six balls and Rinku's first ball four helped India get close but it took the last ball to decide the winner. Needing a run off the last ball, Sean Abbott bowled a no-ball, however, it went for a six off Rinku's bat and India took 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

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Here's how fans reacted to India's win over Australia in the first T20I: 

India Australia featured Rinku Singh