So that's all from the comm box. Till the 2nd T20I encounter on Sunday, adieus from me, Arya Sekhar Chakraborty and my co-commentators Kingshuk Kusari and Sourya Chowdhury.
Aaron Finch, Australia Captain: The injury got progressively worse as the game went on (about his injury to the hip). Their doctor had ruled Jadeja out due to concussion. You can't be challenging a medical expert's opinion. We probably leaked too may runs at the death. Then while chasing, we didn't hit too many boundaries in the 6-over period.
Virat Kohli, India Captain "Jaddu got a knock on the side of a head and was a bit dizzy and still is. Concussion replacements are a strange thing, today it worked for us maybe another time he wouldn't have found a like-for-like. He came in and bowled really well. The pitch offered him enough. We showed character to fight back."
Yuzvendra Chahal, Man of the Match: I have played so many games and was mentally fit. 10-15 minutes before the start of the innings, I got to know I will play. The way Zampa bowled, I tried to do the same as well. It was a little harder to score in the first innings. 150-160 is a good score on this wicket. I bowled according to my plans.
For the first time in the history of the game, a concussion substitute has got the Man of the Match Award.
Hardik Pandya smashed a six before perishing of Moises Henriques. In the final 3 overs it was Ravindra Jadeja who turned the match on its head with some lusty hitting. He smashed a 23 balls 44 which was studded with 5 fours and a six which eventually propelled India to a score of 161 in their allotted 20 overs. The talking point of the match will be the concussion substitute without an iota of doubt. Whether India found a loophole in the system and used it to their advantage, god only can answer. However they win it nonetheless and lead the series 1-0.
Earlier in the day it was the Australian skipper Finch who put India in. After a few crisp shits from Rahul, it was Starc who castled his partner Mitchell Starc with a beauty. Kohli fell cheaply as well of Mitchell Swepson but KL Rahul on the other end was hitting some exquisite shots. He went after the bowling and completed a well-deserved half-century. Sanju Samson looked in good touch during a knock of 23 but was dismissed in a bit to up the run rate. India lost a few more wickets in a cluster and was reduced to 92/5.
Glenn Maxwell was also dismissed pretty early as T Natarajan joined the party. Short went soon after courtesy a phenomenal catch by Hardik Pandya at long-on. From there on Australia couldn't quite force their way back into the match as they kept losing wickets on a consistent basis. T Natarajan was quite outstanding in his debut and bagged 3 crucial wickets. In the end it was a pretty easy win for India by 11 runs. Canberra has been a happy hunting ground for India so far with two wins on a trot.