(Cricket news) India defeated Australia by 6 wickets with 4 balls to spare in an 8 over game. The start of the match was delayed due to the wet surface and it was cut down to 8 overs a side with 2 over powerplay. Both the teams made a couple of changes as India brought in Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav while Australia replaced Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis with Daniel Sams and Sean Abbott. India decided to go with an extra batter as they needed only 5 bowling options. The crowd at Nagpur despite the delay was absolutely buzzing as they witnessed international cricket after 3 long years. Both the captains and the other players gave a special mention to the crowd that was anything but quiet right from the beginning.

After losing the toss Australia were put into bat first. The approach changed for the 8 over game and rightly so as all the batters looked for boundaries immediately. Aaron Finch started off with a 31 off just 15 balls including 4 fours and 1 six. Axar Patel was India's best bowler as he picked up 2/13 in his two overs. The all-rounder is continuing to impress in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and has definitely cemented his place in the playing XI. Jasprit Bumrah on his return looked fully fit and rapid as he dismissed a set Aaron Finch with a rocket yorker. Matthew Wade picked up exactly where he left off at Mohali by scoring an unbeaten 43 off just 20 balls. The gloveman's explosive innings included 4 boundaries and 3 maximums as it took Australia to a good total of 90.

Chasing 91, India got off to a great start but then Adam Zampa spun his webs by picking up 3 wickets to get Australia back in the game. Pat Cummins, who had a good day with the ball, got rid of the dangerous Hardik Pandya. Rohit Sharma was the player of the match as he scored an incredible 20 ball 46 hitting 4 fours and 4 sumptuous sixes. Dinesh Karthik finished the game with 2 boundaries in the last over as India chased down the total with 4 balls to spare. An 8 over game is very dependent on luck especially at the toss but India did play some good cricket in the match. The two teams are now all set for the decider in Hyderabad which will add to their experience before the T20 World Cup.

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