According to Matthew Wade, the Indian conditions allow hitters to successfully hit even decent balls for boundaries, which contributed to Australia’s successful pursuit of 209 in the first T20I. After Cameron Green’s 61 off 30 balls, the seasoned wicketkeeper batsman hammered an unbeaten 45 off 21 balls as the visitors defeated a challenging mark on Tuesday night. Up to 55 runs were required off the final four overs, but Wade kept finding boundaries, preventing a stressful conclusion. Wade, 34, said experience has made him much smarter and he doesn’t jump into playing offensive strokes while discussing his job as a finisher. “The run rate dictates way you have to play. Grounds like we play in India, you hit the ball in the ground and you can still find the boundaries that puts a lot of pressure on the bowlers,” said Wade in the post-match press conference.
“They bowled me some yorkers and I managed to put them away. That keeps you calm, in the middle.” With the way the wicket played, Wade said they backed themselves to win the game. “The way that we structured up today and the way that we drove the game early gave us every opportunity at the back end to win the game. Everybody that stepped out had really good intent; even (Josh) Inglis’s was a small innings but it keeps the momentum of the innings rolling. “At seven and eight, through that period, kind of puts a lot pressure on down to the back end as you need 15 an over. So as a team and myself and Tim, I thought we really found a way to drive the game tonight, which was nice. “It was a good wicket and a bit of dew came in. The outfield was beautiful as well. We have got a lot of depth to find a way to chase big scores,” said the southpaw.
Wade was all praise for Green, an all-rounder who opened for the first time in international cricket and produced the game-winning performance. “He impresses every time I have seen him play. Saw him at Western Australia couple of years ago, he was a bowler who batted at nine. To see where he is now is quite remarkable. Coach and captain feels it is the best spot for him to find his feet in T20 cricket. “He copped a bit of tap in the last over (of India’s innings). To turn around and give this performance these are good signs. We feel Greeny is our top-order player; if something happens, we need to pull him for the World Cup.”
