India vs Australia 2019: 3 talking points from the nail-biting first T20I

#2 Australian bowlers bowl to a plan

India v Australia - T20I: Game 1

After Finch won the toss and decided to bowl first on a wicket that looked like a batting beauty, the Australian fast bowlers were right on the money in the first few overs. The return of Pat Cummins in the shorter format was a welcome relief for Australia.

All four fast bowlers were bowling with a plan of hitting the deck and making the Indian batsmen score off the back foot. Along with hitting the deck, they were bowling at the body, and not giving the bastmen room to free their arms, and it worked very well, especially in the second half of the innings against the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya.

The Australian fast bowlers continued to bowl that length in the death overs as well when MS Dhoni was trying to go for the big hits. They didn’t allow Dhoni to get underneath the ball, which can give him the elevation to hit the long ball.

In the end, all the bowlers collectively did well to restrict India to a modest total.