T20I: India beat Australia and has taken an unbeatable 3-1 lead

By siliconindia  |  Saturday, 02 December 2023, 11:23:18 AM IST

T20I: India beat Australia and has taken an unbeatable 3-1 lead
India won the fourth T20I against Australia by 20 runs to clinch the five-match bilateral series 3-1, setting a record-breaking 136th T20I victory, the most by any team in international cricket. The middle-overs spin duo of Axar Patel (3-16) and Ravi Bishnoi (1-17) put a stop to the Australian batters, restricting them to 154/6 in 20 overs. Earlier, India scored 174/9 thanks to vital contributions by Rinku Singh (46), Jitesh Sharma (35), and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37). Although Australia looked on course to chase the target as they reached 87/3 in the 12th over, India's strong bowling performance and fielding efforts led them to victory.
India's spinners Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi showed great skill and coordination to take four wickets for just 33 runs in eight overs, restricting Australia to a score of 154/7 in 20 overs. This helped Suryakumar Yadav's team to secure a win and take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series with one match still remaining. This victory also marked India's fifth successive T20I series win at home. In addition, India now holds the record for winning the highest number of 20-over international matches, surpassing Pakistan's previous record.
This is also the first series victory as a captain for Suryakumar Yadav. Travis Head, hero of Australia's triumph in the 50-over World Cup a few couple of weeks back, contributed 31 while skipper Matthew Wade blasted an unbeaten 36 off 23 balls. However, the Australians found the Indian spinners difficult customers on a pitch that did not offer much assistance to the spinners.
Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi took crucial wickets, while Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan held their nerve to help India to a thrilling win over Australia. Earlier, a late charge by Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma helped India recover from a mid-innings collapse to post 174/9 in 20 overs. Australia chose to field first after winning the toss against India at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. India's openers scored 50 runs in the sixth over. Rinku and Jitesh added 56 runs for the fifth wicket before India lost some wickets and could only manage a total of 174.
Jaiswal scored 37 runs off 28 balls, hitting six fours and a six, but was dismissed by Aaron Hardie's delivery. India lost two quick wickets as Iyer (8) and Yadav (1) were dismissed by Sangha and Dwarshuis respectively. The stadium reportedly had power problems due to unpaid bills. Gaikwad scored 32 off 28 balls, caught by Dwarshuis off Sangha. India was reduced to 111/4, but Rinku and Jitesh raised a quick half-century, propelling India to 167. Rinku hit four boundaries and two sixes, while Jitesh hit four boundaries and three sixes. Travis Head caught Jitesh off Dwarshuis.
India lost five wickets in the last two overs starting from the fourth ball of the 19th over. Jitesh Sharma (18.4), Axar Patel (18.5) and Rinku Singh (19.1) got out over three consecutive balls spread across two overs while Deepak Chahar (19.3) and Ravi Bishnoi (19.6) also fell in the final over. +For Australia, Ben Dwarshuis claimed 3-40 while Jason Behrendorff (2-32) -and Tanveer Sangha (2-30) claimed a couple of wickets apiece.
Source: IANS

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