Virat Kohli Reveals Reason For Bringing in Chahal as Concussion Substitute Amid Match  

The first T20I between India and Australia brought in a big debate over the rule of concussion substitute during the match. The debate began after leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal replaced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja when Team India came out to defend the total of 162 in Canberra.

After Jadeja was struck on the helmet by Mitchell Starc, he continued playing but later on he was also seen suffering from a hamstring strain and limping on the ground. Despite his pain, he smashed 44 in 23 balls to help India to hit the target.

Soon after Chahal walked in, he created magic with the ball, by registering figures of 3/25 in his 4 overs as India won the match by 11 runs. He also got awarded the man of the match award.

While speaking at the post-match ceremony, Kohli explained why the Indian team used a concussion substitute in the match.

"Jaddu got a knock on the side of a head and was a bit dizzy and still is. Concussion replacements are a strange thing, today it worked for us maybe another time he wouldn’t have found a like-for-like,” Kohli said.

“There were no plans of having Yuzi in the game. Yuzi showed character to squeeze the opponents. I thought they had a great start. They were cruising. The batters offered us a few wickets. That is T20 cricket for you,” Kohli added. 

Further speaking on Natarajan and his performance in the match. Virat stated that "In Australia, you need to play hard and show intensity till the end. He batted beautifully in the last game. Natarajan looks like he can improve a lot. Chahar bowled well as well. Chahal got us back in the game. Hardik’s catch was a game changer as well."

Talking about the match, India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. Both the teams will meet again on Sunday in Sydney.