RAIPUR (Chhattisgarh) : Axar Patel’s three-wicket haul helped India clinch a 20-run win against Australia in the fourth T20I match on Friday and get an invincible 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Chasing 175 for victory, Travis Head and Josh Philippe opened for Australia. The Aussie openers played a 40-run partnership until Ravi Bishnoi got the first breakthrough and dismissed Philippe in the fourth over on his individual score of eight runs. (AUS 40-1).
Axar Patel bagged an important wicket as he removed Head in the fifth over. Travis had scored 31 runs and Austrailia were now 44 for two. In the first powerplay, Australia scored 52 runs and India bagged two wickets. The Aussies crossed the 50-run mark in the 5.4 overs . Axar picked up his second wicket after he dismissed Aaron Hardie for eight runs.
Ben McDermott too was sent to the pavilion by Axar Patel after he had scored 19 runs with Australia in a spot of bother at 87 for 4.
Australia crossed the 100-run mark in 14.1 overs mark. Deepak Chahar took his first wicket after he dismissed Tim David in the 15th over. Matthew Short was removed by Chahar in the seventeenth over and Australia were now 126 for 6.
Avesh Khan bagged his first wicket as he dismissed Ben Dwarshuis who scored just one run.
Axar bagged three wickets in his four-over spell and gave away 16 runs. Chahar bagged two wickets and gave away 44 runs.
Axar Patel was named the ‘Player of the Match’.
Australia decided to bowl after winning the toss. Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad opened for the ‘Men in Blue’ and played a solid 50-run partnership to give India a fiery start.
Aussie pacer Aaron Hardie made the first breakthrough for his team and dismissed Jaiswal in the sixth over for 37 runs. The 21-year-old opener slammed six fours and one six in his innings with India losing the first wicket at the score of 50.
In his first T20I match of the series, Shreyas Iyer failed to make a mark as he had to leave the crease after Tanveer Sangha picked up his wicket in the eighth over.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav just scored just one run after playing two balls and was dismissed by Ben Dwarshuis with India’s score reading 63-3.
Gaikwad was trying to build up the innings but the Aussies did not take much time to dismiss him. Sangha bagged his second wicket as he removed Gaikwad in the 14th over when he had scored 32 runs. The right-handed batter slammed three fours and one six.
Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma then set the tone of the game and had a 66-run partnership. Sharma was sent to pavillion after he had scored 35 runs from 19 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter smashed one four and three sixes.
Axar Patel went out for a duck and India were 168-6. Rinku missed his half-century by four runs. Jason Behrendorff bagged his first wicket of the game after he removed Rinku on 46. The left-handed batter hit 4 fours and 2 sixes.
Deepak Chahar tried to score in the final over of the inning, but he had to leave the crease for a two-ball duck. Behrendorff dimissed him.
Ravi Bishnoi was run out on the last ball of the 20th over and India scored 174 for nine wickets. Dwarshuis and Sangha scalped three and two wickets respectively. Behrendorff also picked up two wickets with Hardie taking one.
The match was played at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. (ANI)