IND vs AUS 4th T20I: India are now World Record holder in T20Is. With a clinical 20-run win over Australia in the 4th T20I in Raipur, India have now surpassed Pakistan for Most T20I wins with 136. If Rinku Singh was the star with bat, scoring 46 off 29 balls, Axar Patel did the star turn with the ball. With 3/16 in his four overs, he helped India restrict Australia to 154/7. The win helps India take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series to seal fifth consecutive T20I series win at home. It is also captain Suryakumar Yadav’s first.
Australia did start well with Travis Head going all guns blazing to add 40 runs in just 3.1 overs. While the partnership came to an end with Ravi Bishnoi castling Josh Philippe, Travis turned India’s heads again. With 16-ball 31, Head gave an audition two three weeks ahead of IPL 2024 auction. But with him departing in the 5th over, Australia lost their way.
Credits also go to Indian spinners with Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi. Axar Patel (3/16) bagged three wickets and bowled a miser spell to choke Australia of the flow of runs. Ravi Bishnoi (1/17) too did the same as the spin duo bowled 26 dot balls in their 48-delivery spells. As a result, Australia only managed 154/7 in 20 overs.
Matthew Wade once again played a crucial yet futile knock of 23-ball 36 as Australia struggled to hit against the spin.
India Innings Summary
Earlier, sent to bat, India could only amass 174/9 as their innings ebbed and flowed. Having survived an early trial by swing, Yashasvi Jaiswal took charge in the powerplay. He took a particular liking of Ben Dwarshuis, hitting him for three boundaries in the 3rd over. However, his brisk innings did not last long as Aaron Hardie came back to haunt the Mumbaikar again. This time, as he tried to pull a length ball, it took a top-edge and Ben McDermott made no mistake.
In came Shreyas Iyer, who made a return to T20Is after a year following a lengthy injury break and ODIs. However, he could only last seven balls before perishing to Tanveer Sangha. Soon, Suryakumar Yadav too fell, reducing India to 63/3 in 8.1 overs.
However, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had taken a backseat so far, took the charge along with Rinku Singh, who got a promotion to No 5. With Gaikwad playing the anchor role, Rinku took the attack to Australia to lift the pressure. The duo added 48 runs off 31 deliveries before the centurion of Guwahati misjudged a shot against Tanveer Sangha to lose his wicket.
But then came the breeze in Raipur. With Rinku Singh already on a hitting spree, Jitesh Sharma joined the party to lift India’s scoring rate even further. From 111/4 in 13.2 overs, Jitesh Sharma (19-ball 35) and Rinku Singh (29-ball 46) lifted India to 167 in 18.4 overs. They added 32-ball 52-run stand.
However, there was a skirmish of short as India soon went on the backfoot with Jitesh Sharma departing off Ben Dwarshuis. In the last eight balls, India scored only 7 runs, losing five wickets to post 174/9.
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