In the fourth Twenty20 International at Carrara Oval on Thursday, India produced a dominant bowling effort to defeat Australia by 48 runs and establish an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Washington Sundar recorded impressive figures of 3-3, while Axar Patel and Shivam Dube each claimed two wickets.
On a two-paced pitch with inconsistent bounce, India scored a par score of 167/8, but their bowlers easily won the match. All six bowlers took at least one wicket, although Sundar, Axar, and Dube stood out the most.
Despite being in a strong position to chase down 168, Australia lost their final nine wickets for just 52 runs and were unable to break free from India’s spin trio’s siege. Australia is now in a must-win situation for the last match in Brisbane on Saturday after being bowled out for 119 in 18.2 overs after starting at 67/1.
Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Short both struck six boundaries to start Australia’s chase. After missing the ball on a sweep and returning to castle Josh Inglish, Axar gave India the breakthrough by trapping Short lbw. Marsh was promising, but a slower ball from Dube ended his innings, and he was holed out to backward square leg.
Australia’s middle order wilted under pressure after that. A pull shot off Dube to extra cover was mishandled by Tim David. Josh Philippe was caught off Arshdeep Singh at short mid-wicket shortly after. Varun Chakaravarthy‘s googly, which nipped the top of the stump, undid Glenn Maxwell.
Then, Sundar struck twice in quick succession, grabbing his 50th T20I wicket by trapping Marcus Stoinis leg before wicket and making a return catch off a mild chip from Xavier Bartlett. Adam Zampa was sent to long-on by Sundar, and Jasprit Bumrah made a comeback to take his 99th T20I wicket by dismissing Ben Dwarshuis.
In the past, India had a strong 49-run opening stand after being sent to bat, with Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma demonstrating fluency and intent. However, when the top four failed to turn their beginnings into significant scores, India’s momentum faltered. Australia was able to re-enter the match because the middle order found it difficult to form partnerships, going from 121/2 to 136/6.
Australia conceded just 46 runs in the final six overs as pacer Ellis, using his signature slower deliveries, struck frequently to hinder India’s progress and take three wickets, while leg-spinner Zampa used his variations to apply pressure throughout the middle overs and take three scalps.
Abhishek saved an early opportunity from Dwarshuis, and he and Gill went on to knock eight boundaries between them as India got off to a good start. Zampa had Abhishek hole out to long-on, breaking the first stand. Dube’s unexpected promotion to number three by India caused a stir.
Ellis tricked Dube with a slower ball that he sliced onto his stumps after he smashed a six and a four. With a barrage of boundaries, including two sixes from Zampa, Suryakumar Yadav created momentum. Gill appeared calm, but he was thrown by Ellis’s quick back-of-hand delivery after failing to escape the slowness post power-play against the older ball.
Tilak Varma failed in an attempt to reverse sweep off Zampa, then Bartlett dismissed Suryakumar with a well-directed ball that caused a top-edge and was collected by square leg. Zampa successfully overturned the on-field judgment by using DRS to trap Jitesh Sharma lbw, while Ellis and Marcus Stoinis removed Sundar and Arshdeep to guarantee that India finished three runs short of 170, which was more than plenty to give the visitors a convincing victory.
Brief Scores: Australia 119 in 18.2 overs (Mitchell Marsh 30, Matthew Short 25; Washington Sundar 3-3, Axar Patel 2-20) lost to India 167/8 (Shubman Gill 46, Abhishek Sharma 28; Nathan Ellis 3-21, Adam Zampa 3-45) by 48 runs.
Read More
PM Modi greets the Indian women’s ODI World Cup winning squad