Australia had a sigh of relief on Wednesday when they clinched a nail-biter T20I affair at Gabba. India, while chasing a massive total of 174 runs in 17 overs, fell short of 4 runs and lost the series opener. This victory was a much-needed respite for the Aussies after their sudden downfall which has been haunting them since the ousting of Steve Smith and David Warner.
The match result was a delight for the Australian head coach Justin Langer. He stated that they were tired of being "bashed up".
“What did it (the win) do the team? I loved seeing the way we were brave. We talked about it. Aussies are great at getting to a point where (we say): 'We have had enough of this. It doesn't matter what part of our summer - we have had enough of it',” Langer was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
“We have had enough of getting beaten, we have had enough of getting bashed up and I just loved how brave the boys were. The way they fielded, the way they batted, they were brave, they had a red-hot dip.
“That's what Australians are good at, aren't we? We get to a point - we say: ‘You know what, we have had enough of this. When are we going to turn it around?’
It was a rare win for Australia since the ball-tampering fiasco in South Africa, and just their second from five matches this home summer.
“Hopefully, they were some really good signs. The way they ran around, dived around, there were some challenging overs with the bowling but let's not underestimate we are bowling to some great players as well,” Langer said.
“It's going to be an arm-wrestle all summer. India are a very good team but there are some really good signs.”
Glenn Maxwell carried on his impressive form with 46 off just 24 balls, Marcus Stoinis made 33 from 19 balls, while leg-spinner Adam Zampa (2/22 off four overs) was Man of the Match for Australia in Brisbane.