Former Australian opener Simon Katich reckons Josh Inglis made it very tough for India by making use of the crease. Inglis batted at his absolute best to score a blistering knock of 110 runs off just 50 balls with the help of 11 fours and eight sixes. Inglis walked to bat with great intent and played at the top of his game from the get-go.

The right-hander made great use of the depth of the crease to take Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel to the cleaners. Furthermore, the Australian wicket-keeper bat was equally good against the Indian fast bowlers.

Inglis added a fine alliance of 130 runs with Steve Smith, who also scored a crucial knock of 51 runs. With the help of Inglis’ whirlwind knock, Australia was able to post a decent score of 208 runs on the board after Suryakumar Yadav decided to bowl first.

“Josh Inglis was excellent right from the word go tonight. He scored all around the wicket. Against pace and spin, his timing was spot on, he opened the blade beautifully to access the off-side. Then he had the power game through the leg side as well as we see it in the highlights,” Katich was quoted as saying on Jio Cinemas.

“What I loved the most is how he used the crease naturally and made it very difficult for the Indian bowlers,” he added.

However, Inglis’ heroics with the bat went in vain as India registered a thrilling win of two wickets. Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav scored a magnum opus knock of 80 runs off just 42 balls whereas Ishan Kishan scored a fine knock of 58 runs. Rinku Singh added the finishing touches with a 14-ball 22.

The second T20I between India and Australia will be played at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.