India Take Lead in T20 Series Against Australia
India's spinners delivered a remarkable performance to defeat Australia by 48 runs in the fourth T20I on the Gold Coast on Thursday. This victory gave India a 2-1 series lead heading into the final match in Brisbane on Saturday.
Key Bowling Performances
Washington Sundar, bowling for the first time in the series, took 3 wickets for just 3 runs in 1.2 overs. All-rounder Axar Patel also impressed with figures of 2 for 20 as Australia lost their last nine wickets for 52 runs at Carrara Stadium.
For Australia, spinner Adam Zampa and paceman Nathan Ellis took three wickets each, managing to restrict India to what appeared a below-par total after home captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and chose to field.
Australia's Batting Collapse
Australia began well, reaching 60 for the loss of opener Matt Short (25), but their chase faltered as they lost 3 wickets for 12 runs in the late middle overs, falling to 103 for six. Even the recalled Glenn Maxwell could not stop the decline, falling for 2 when the last ball from legspinner Varun Chakravarthy shattered the stumps.
Batting Highlights for India
- Axar Patel contributed an unbeaten 21 runs to push India past 160.
- Shubman Gill was the top-scorer with 46 runs, anchoring partnerships with Abhishek Sharma (28) and Shivam Dube (22).
"The way Shubman and Abhishek started, they knew this was not a 200-220 wicket," said India captain Suryakumar Yadav, giving credit to the batters despite the spinners setting up the win.
Man of the Match
Axar Patel was named man-of-the-match for both his bowling and unbeaten batting contributions.
Summary: India's spinners dominated the game, complemented by strong batting performances, to secure a crucial series lead against Australia.
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