Twitteratti floods as India archives consolatory win, experts back Virat Kohli and co.
It was a Tweet fest as team India lead by the brilliant knocks by all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya along with a decent bowling effort secured their first win on Australian soil this year. Having lost the series already, Virat Kohli’s side first posted a more than par 303 run target, restricting the Australians to a mediocre 289 on a bowler friendly Canberra pitch.
Hardik Pandya was the adjudged man of the match after he scored 92 runs— his highest score in the format, putting up a 151 run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (66) for the sixth wicket. The duo went after the Australian bowlers in death overs, slamming Sean Abbott for consecutive boundaries.
The Star Of The Show Was Once T. Natarajan With The Ball And Hardik Pandya With The Bat
However, Twitter had started talking about the match much before the Pandya-Jadeja show began. Earlier it was T. Natarajan, who owing to his extraordinary IPL stint got a place in the squad and made his ODI debut at Canberra. Reaching the 23 run figure, Virat Kohli announced himself as the fastest to score 12,000 runs in ODI cricket beating Sachin Tendulkar.
After India won the game, it was all crackers on Twitter as users, experts and players took on to express sheer pride in the team’s victory.
The Crazy Reactions On Twitter That Got The Whole Fanbase Buzzing
Suryakumar Yadav, who wasn’t included in the squad for the Australian tour despite supreme IPL performances during Mumbai Indians’ trophy winning season, said, “Ending the ODI series on high. Good momentum for T20 series 🔥🇮🇳🔥#greatshow #AUSvsIND.”
Cricket commentator and expert Harsha Bhogale couldn’t stop himself from admiring Natrajan. The Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer picked his debut wicket, getting the better of opener Marnus Labuschagne, knocking his stumps when Australia were only at 25 runs. Natrajan also dismissed Ashton Agar in the death overs.
“Back in my hotel room and contemplating the magnitude of what a young man from Chinnappampatti achieved today. @Natarajan_91’s debut shows us that Indian cricket is a meritocracy. And may it always be that way,” Bhogale tweeted.
One tweet that caught the most attention on Twitter came from Sanjay Manjrekar. The commentator had questioned Hardik Pandya as a full time batsman coming into this game. He had also raised doubts over Ravindra Jadeja’s effectiveness. However, after the explosive stand by both the players, Sanjay Manjrekar, who was proved wrong admitted that Hardik Pandya can be a pure batsman.
“Was skeptical about Hardik the pure batsman in 50 overs cricket. Not anymore. 🙏👏👏👏
AUSvsIND,” Manjrekar Tweeted.
He was also heavily trolled on Twitter for the comments he had issued coming into the game.
What Harbhajan Singh And Co. Stated After That Epic Win That Handed Team India The Series
In his very own style, veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh lauded the timely partnership stitched by Hardik and Jadeja. His tweet coming in the innings break emphasized the importance of the bowlers.
“Superb partnership @imjadeja and @hardikpandya7 job done.. backing our bowlers to come good today .. Chak do fatte shero @BCCI,” Harbhajan Singh tweeted during the innings break.
Boria Majumdar seemed impressed with the intensity of the team. He spoke greatly of Natrajan and Shardul Thakur as the pacers managed to contain the destructive Aussie line-up. However, his special mention went to the yorker Jasprit Bumrah bowled to get rid of Glenn Maxwell.
“This will mean a lot to this team and with the super league every game is relevant. So there is nothing like a dead rubber anymore. Liked the intensity and Nattu and Shardul deserve a lot of credit. The delivery of the innings was Bumrah to Maxwell,” Boria Majumdar said.
Onto The Test Series Now With Team India Looking To Prove Their Worth In The Longer Format
The ODI series was lost but the T20 series was won. However, the third and final decider will be the Test series between the two sides. Both teams will want to win this one and label themselves as the better overall side.
The two teams do have a few injury concerns and more cricket news could come in. With Virat Kohli is set to leave after the first Test, things could get interesting. It will be interesting to see how KL Rahul handles this team. A tough task ahead for sure but the fans will expect some great cricket.
