2016 was a fabulous year for Team India as they achieved phenomenal success across all formats of the game. From the T20I front, India’s record was simply stellar, as the then Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led outfit won 15 out of the 21 matches they featured in. In all those victories, India’s batting stood out as it included some stalwarts of the format.
India’s first T20I series assignment of the year gone by was against Australia in a three-match series Down Under. After losing the ODI series 4-1, the Indians roared back rather ferociously with a series victory in the T20Is. The third game though at Sydney on January 31, 2016 was a complete thrilling affair as the hosts needed to scale down a massive target of 198 in order to become the first team in the game’s history to whitewash Australia in their own backyard.
Needing 198 to win, India zoomed off in no time as opener Shikhar Dhawan brutally assaulted the wayward Shaun Tait early on. Thanks to a 9-ball 26 from Dhawan, India were playing with a run rate in excess of 12 when he got out in the fourth over.
The elegant duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma got together for the second wicket and added 78 runs in 9.1 overs. Both the right-handers registered fine half-centuries as India seemed to be well on course for the target.
However, as both got out in quick succession, Australia managed to peg back the scoring and with two new men in Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh in the middle, India were in trouble. Yuvraj, who was batting for the first time on the tour, was struggling with his strokes as timing the ball seemed a tad tough for him.
Things came down to the last over with India needing 17 to whitewash Australia. Yuvraj was on strike against pacer Andrew Tye and on the very first ball, he flicked the ball towards leg-side for a boundary. 13 needed off 5, and it was still anyone’s game. On the very next ball, Tye pitched it up fuller and Yuvraj, sitting deep in his crease took full toll of that and deposited it into the stands by clearing his front leg.
With 7 needed off 4, the pair ran a bye and then eventually on the last three balls of the game, Suresh Raina took consecutive twos before hitting the winning boundary over the point fielder. As Raina hit the boundary, the Indians set off on a victorious run, as a serious record had been shattered. The Australians had been whitewashed in their own den.
Below is the video of that last over as Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina chased down 17 to seal a thrilling run-chase for India.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvonaE7gyoA