IND v AUS 2020: Three highest T20I partnerships for team India against Australia
India made a fine start to their T20I series against Australia by beating them at Canberra by 11 runs. Both sides have been strong competitors and have produced some fine T20I games over the years. The Indian cricket team has had world-class batsmen who dug in during crunch situations and built strong partnerships to hurt the Aussies.
These batsmen together dominated the Australian bowlers and churned out match-winning partnerships. Here is a look at the three highest partnerships for India against Australia in T20Is.
Three highest T20I partnerships for Team India against Australia
1.Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina - 134 (Adelaide - January 26, 2016)
In the first of the three-match T20I series at Adelaide, India batted first and wanted to put scoreboard pressure on the Aussies. Rohit Sharma gave team India a quick start, but both he and Shikhar Dhawan fell in quick succession, with team India reeling at 41-2. Both Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina were new to the crease and began consolidating the innings.
Once Kohli got his eye in, he began to target the Australian bowlers and started finding the gaps at regular intervals. Raina proved to be the ideal partner for Kohli as he rotated the strike and kept the scoreboard ticking. The duo added 134 runs for the third wicket, the highest partnership for India in T20Is against Australia.
Raina was dismissed for 41. But Virat Kohli went on to score an unbeaten 90 off just 55 balls, including 9 fours and 2 sixes. His innings helped team India post a daunting total of 188-3 in their 20 overs. This was too much for Australia as they lost the game by 37 runs.
2. Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni - 102* (Rajkot - October 10, 2013)
This was a one-off T20I between India and Australia at Rajkot in 2013. Australia batted first posted a mammoth total of 201-7, thanks to a brilliant 89 from Aaron Finch. Chasing it would never be easy, and team India needed a good start from their openers.
Shikhar Dhawan's 19-ball 32 gave team India that start. But they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. At the beginning of the 12th over, India were already 4 wickets down, still needing 102 runs to win the game.
That was when Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni got together and took charge. Dhoni rotated the strike and took the game deep, while Yuvraj was in the mood to smash the Australian bowlers all around the park.
The southpaw scored 77 runs off just 35 balls which included 8 fours and 5 huge sixes. Dhoni played a good supporting hand of 24 and the duo made sure that India chased down the mammoth total with 2 balls to spare. Their partnership of 102 runs still remains the second-highest for team India in T20Is against Australia.
3. Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni - 100 (Bengaluru - February 27, 2019)
India played Australia in the second game of their T20I series in 2019 at Bengaluru and batted first. Openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan gave team India a good start yet again, adding 61 runs for the first wicket. But the Men in Blue then lost three wickets in quick succession and were 74-3 at the end of the 11th over.
Skipper Virat Kohli was then joined by MS Dhoni at the crease and the duo first tried to stabilize the innings. Kohli played the role of the aggressor, while Dhoni focused on the rotation of strike. Smashing the Australian bowlers, Kohli played a brilliant knock of 72 runs off just 38 balls including 2 fours and 6 sixes. Dhoni also contributed with a 23-ball 40 as team India posted a daunting total of 190-4 in their 20 overs.
A blistering hundred from Glenn Maxwell took the game away from team India as Australia won by 7 wickets. The 100-run partnership between Kohli and Dhoni still remains the third-highest for team India against Australia in T20Is.