The Suryakumar Yadav-led Team India faced social media mockery after their T20I series victory over Australia in Raipur.

Fans on Twitter, now branded as X, shared hilarious memes to have fun at Team India's expense. Amongst them were those netizens who took a swipe at the Indians, including skipper Suryakumar Yadav, telling them that they could only win bilateral competitions against Australia.

A few tweets showed Suryakumar Yadav in a dismal state, hinting that India's series triumph over Australia does not hold any value and that Indian cricket's admirers want to see their team win an ICC event.

 

With the 20-run triumph over the Kangaroos at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in the Chhattisgarh capital, India recorded their 136th win in T20Is, the most by any team in the shortest format.

Previously, Pakistan held the record, having secured 135 victories in T20Is. New Zealand is third on the list with 102 wins, while Australia and South Africa trail the Kiwis with 95 triumphs each.

India's world-record-setting victory over Australia came on the back of a solid bowling display, especially from their spinners after the Men in Blue put up only 174/9 on the board on a pitch that assisted spin.

Barring Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma, no Indian batter got going on a sluggish wicket that the Australian bowlers exploited well.

While Rinku Singh made a blistering 46 off 29 balls, Jitesh Sharma smashed 35 off 19 deliveries to give India some momentum in the second half of their innings.

Without Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma's quickfire knocks, India would have struggled to cross even the 150-run mark.

But in the end, their contributions put India in a formidable position, considering the pitch was difficult to bat on.

In reply to India's 174/9, the Australians made a brisk start, with Travis Head dealing in boundaries and sixes up front.

However, once he departed at 31 off 16 balls in the fifth over, the Indian spinners, led by Axar Patel, took control of the proceedings on the field, making run-scoring tough for the Australian batters.

As Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi put a lid on the Australian run-scoring, wickets started to tumble in Raipur, with the former being the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 3/16.

On the other hand, Ravi Bishnoi played his part to perfection, registering stats of 1/17 in his quota of four overs.

Splendid performances from Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel ensured India's 20-run victory, giving them the series victory over Australia, only days after the Southern Hemisphere's side beat the hosts in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

This victory would have healed some of the wounds of the Indian cricketers, which they suffered at the hands of the Australians following their heartbreaking loss in the 2023 Cricket World Cup title clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium last month.

Notably, Rohit Sharma and Co. were undefeated in the World Cup until the final, having dominated matches against opposition sides, yet came short against the Australians, with Pat Cummins executing his plans to the fullest.

“Since the first game I had been bowling well, so one-odd over for runs doesn't give me stress. I was thinking how to bowl with my strength, even if one match you go for runs, you stick to your strengths, stay strong mentally and bowl stump to stump,” Axar Patel said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“I tried to stay attacking to Wade even if he is left-handed. I had to execute my plans and there was no point being scared what if he hits me. The wicket I got today was off a slower ball relatively, you can't get wickets only one way. That's what I was thinking about in the break; these minor changes make a difference and you know how things work only when you try them out in a match,” he added.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav credited his bowlers for the Indian cricket team's victory, stressing that they showed character and played fearless cricket in Raipur.

“Other than toss everything went our way. Winning was the big boost, especially the way the boys showed character. Everyone expressed themselves irrespective of the situation, and that's what I told them: be fearless, play your game and we'll see what happens. The plan was very clear, to bowl yorkers on the stumps and we'll take it from there. If that doesn't work, we'll see what happens,” Suryakumar Yadav said.

Meanwhile, Australian skipper Matthew Wade acknowledged that his side struggled against the Indian spinners.

“We just didn't play spin very well in the middle and lost few too many wickets so that left Tim David with too much to do. The bowlers coming in did a very good job, Dwarshuis did a very good job, they did really stand up. We want to continue to learn about the players under the established players since the World Cup is around the corner, so depth around the squad will be key,” he noted.