India secured an unassailable 2-I lead in the five-match series by defending a low score with a stifling bowling effort for a 48-run victory against Australia in the fourth T20 International at the Carrara Oval in Queensland on Thursday.
Axar Patel and Shivam Dube, who each took two wickets to put Australia on the back foot in the run chase, were the masterminds behind India’s victory.
Australia folded up for 119 in 18.2 overs after being 91/3 at one point, while India easily defended 168 thanks to three wickets from Washington Sundar toward the end.
On November 8, the last Twenty20 match will take place in Brisbane. The series’ first game was washed out in Canberra.
Australia began the run chase with ease thanks to openers Matthew Short (30 off 24) and Mitchell Marsh (25 off 19), but a barrage of wickets in the middle overs forced the hosts to a point of no return.
Dube made a significant effect on the game by removing Marsh and Tim David (14 off 9) in consecutive overs after Axar trapped Short on the powerplay. Before surprising David with a short ball in the next over, Marsh was dismissed on his second ball.
The game appeared to be over when Glenn Maxwell’s exposed stumps were disturbed by the final ball of Varun Chakaravarthy’s fourth over. Arshdeep Singh also claimed a wicket in the middle overs.
A mediocre batting effort preceded the outstanding performance. India finished with an unimpressive 167 for eight after a wicket-less powerplay, but they never gained the momentum they needed.
Before India lost their way, Abhishek Sharma (28 off 21) and Shubman Gill (46 off 39) combined for 56 for the first wicket.
Shivam Dube (22 off 18), who was promoted to number three to take on Adam Zampa, was unable to have much of an impact, and captain Suryakumar Yadav (20 off 10) left after hitting two sixes.
The best of the Australian bowlers was pacer Nathan Ellis (3/21 in 4 overs), who made good use of his variations.
In his four overs, Zampa conceded 45 runs, but more significantly, he took three wickets, including the dangerous Abhishek.
On the second ball of his opening spell, Abhishek stepped out to Zampa and hit it down the ground for a maximum.
Two balls later, the southpaw attempted to hit another out of the park but was caught at long-on.
Ben Dwarshuis, a left-arm pacer, could have dismissed Abhishek with the second ball of the match, but Xavier Bartlett missed the early chance.
Gill, Abhishek’s opening partner who hasn’t scored much in the series, had to put in a lot of effort to earn his runs.
Before succumbing to a slower, back-of-hand hit from Ellis, he alleviated some pressure with a huge blow from Marcus Stonis in the cow corner area.
After that, the wickets continued to fall, depriving the innings of any momentum. Towards the end, Axar Patel (21 not out of 11) scored the crucial boundaries to take the total above 160.
In the final five overs, India lost 4 wickets for 42 runs, but their outstanding bowling performance helped them win.
