| First Twenty20 international, Canberra |
| India 161-7 (20 overs): Rahul 51 (40), Jadeja 44* (23), Henriques 3-22 |
| Australia 150-7 (20 overs): Finch 35 (26), Chahal 3-25, Natarajan 3-30 |
| India won by 11 runs |
| Scorecard |
Concussion substitute Yuzvendra Chahal took 3-25 as India beat Australia by 11 runs in a controversial first Twenty20 in Canberra.
Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 44 off 23 balls helped India recover from 92-5 to post 161-7.
He was hit on the helmet in the 20th over but batted on, only to be replaced by leg-spinner Chahal at the interval.
Man of the match Chahal then took 3-25, including captain Aaron Finch for 35 and Steve Smith for 12.
On 20 not out in the penultimate over, Jadeja appeared to suffer a hamstring injury and was treated on the pitch by the physio.
If a player is replaced in those circumstances, a substitute fielder cannot bat or bowl.
After edging the second ball of the final over from Mitchell Starc into his helmet, Jadeja added a further 10 runs.
During the interval Australia coach Justin Langer was involved in a heated discussion with match referee David Boon, his former Australia team-mate.
After the game India captain Virat Kohli told Fox Sports that Jadeja “was a bit dizzy and still is”.
Finch said the discussion between Boon and Langer took place when Australia were told Jadeja had been ruled out with concussion by the India team doctor.
“You aren’t challenging a medical expert in that regard,” Finch said.
Australia, who won the one-day series that preceded the T20s 2-1, reached 56-0 in their pursuit before Chahal had Finch caught at long-off and Smith brilliantly taken by a diving Sanju Samson at deep midwicket.
Chahal removed Matthew Wade with his final ball, while left-arm seamer T Natarajan finished with 3-30 on his T20 debut.
The second game of the three-match series takes place in Sydney on Sunday at 08:10 GMT.
Finch may be a doubt with what he described as a “hip or glute” injury that “got progressively worse” during the game.
Listen to ABC Grandstand commentary of the final two matches on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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