Indian batsman KL Rahul opened the innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan in the first T20I against Australia on Friday. As he scored the 39th run of his innings, Rahul joined the likes of Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Aaron Finch in an elite run-scoring record.

Rahul now holds the record for being the joint-fastest to 1,500 runs in T20Is. He reached the feat in only 39 innings. During the course of his innings, Rahul also reached his 12th T20I fifty.
He took 37 deliveries to reach his half-century.

Earlier in the Indian innings, Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed cheaply as Mitchell Starc removed him on only 1. Indian captain Virat Kohli, too, faltered yet again to a leg-spinner, as he scored 9.

Rahul, however, held one end throughout this time as he continued on his aggressive run-scoring.

Australia had won the toss and opted to bowl in the first T20I at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Team India opted to rest the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal in the bowling lineup while T Natarajan made his T20I debut, with Washington Sundar and Deepak Chahar playing their first game of the tour.