Asked to bat first, India lost four wickets inside the powerplay — only the 10th time it has happened in T20Is — as Josh Hazlewood produced a fiery spell of 3 for 12, bowling Test-match lengths on a surface offering steep lift. Abhishek stood out with a counterattacking 68 off 37 balls, trying to keep India afloat while wickets kept falling at the other end.
“First of all, obviously, I play according to the team plan. Our plan is to dominate the top order. But today, it was a little unexpected for us. They hit the right spots — their line and lengths were perfect. When wickets keep falling, you have to adapt and play for the team,” said Abhishek.
The left-hander explained that the pitch wasn’t as easy to score on as it looked. “The wicket was very difficult while playing — it was not easy to hit shots. So I played according to the situation,” he added.
Having seen Hazlewood in the ODIs earlier, Abhishek said even that experience didn’t prepare him for this spell. He credited the Australian pacer for executing his plans to perfection.
“I was watching him in the ODIs as well, so we knew he’d challenge us. But the way he bowled today even surprised me. I haven’t seen something like this in T20s. It was something new for me as a batter who wants to dominate — but he had a plan, and he executed it perfectly.”
At 49 for 5, Harshit Rana was promoted up the order and provided valuable support. The pair added a half-century stand that helped India cross the 100-run mark, before another collapse ended the innings with eight balls left.
Explaining Rana’s promotion, Abhishek said: “He has hit sixes off me in nets! He came and told me to play a little normally. I felt the right-left combination was good, so he came ahead of Shivam Dube — and he did really well.”
For a relatively young batting lineup, Abhishek described the game as a valuable lesson in adapting to bounce and pace. “Many of us, including me, are on our first tour. We knew they’d use the hard length and bounce, but the amount of lift surprised us. Credit goes to them for the discipline,” he concluded.
Match Summary: India 125 all out (Abhishek 68, Hazlewood 3/12). Australia 126/6 in 13.2 overs. Australia lead 1–0 in the T20I series.