Mohali, Sep 21 (IANS): 'Player of the Match' in the opening T20I against India here, Cameron Green said it was nice to be thrown into the deep end with the T20 World Cup at home less than a month away, adding that with skipper Aaron Finch batting with him at the top, it provided him with the confidence to bat freely.
Green, 23, playing in only his second T20I, scored a 30-ball 61 and also took the crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav just when the Indian was threatening to let loose as India made 208/6 in the allotted 20 overs at the PCA Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The tall all-rounder gave Australia the start they needed while chasing the mammoth total, before Matthew Wade (45 not out off 21 balls) finished the task with four deliveries to spare as the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Green, who is being touted as the next big name in white-ball cricket, said, "(I) kind of got thrown in the deep end a little bit but it was nice to bat with (Aaron) Finchy. He is an experienced campaigner and keeps you calm in the middle. It was kind of nice. We had the luxury of watching the Indians bat," said Green.
Green, playing as an opener in professional cricket for the time, took India by surprise with his power hitting, blasting eight boundaries and four sixes at strike rate of over 203 and atoning for the disastrous final over he bowled to Hardik Pandya.
Pandya smashed Green for three back-to-back sixes. On Pandya's batting, Green said, "Hardik played beautifully. He has to be the best in the world at what he does. It kind of gave us an idea of how to go about it (looking at the T20 World Cup)."
Australia skipper Finch said, the dew factor and his team batting second while chasing a big total, did facilitate the win.
"It was a good contest. Obviously the dew helped us at the back end. Some really good partnerships from us. I thought the intent of all our guys, the way that they just attacked their match ups and really took it on and tried to change the momentum of the game was really good. That's all we're after at the moment."