India sought revenge for their previous World Cup disappointment by relying on their spinners to secure a decisive 20-run win in the fourth Twenty20 match at Raipur.

India was able to defeat Australia in the fifth match of the series, despite a shaky performance in the final overs. After losing five wickets and only scoring seven runs in the last nine balls, India finished with a score of 174 for nine. However, they were able to make a comeback and restrict Australia to 154 for seven, securing a 3-1 lead in the series. Travis Head, who played a crucial role in the World Cup final, scored 31 runs in a quick start before being slowed down by spinners Axar Patel (three for 16) and Ravi Bishnoi (one for 17). Australia’s Matthew Wade (36 not out) put up a fight towards the end, but it was not enough to secure a win against India’s impressive spinners.

The location was using generators to operate the floodlights because they had not paid their electricity bills. Australia had a strong beginning, scoring 40 runs without losing any wickets in just three overs. However, when the spin bowlers Patel and Bishnoi entered the game, the momentum shifted and they became the top wicket-takers of the series.

Bishnoi began a quick series of three wickets for 12 runs, starting by knocking over Josh Philippe for eight. Then, Patel took out dangerman Head with a top-edged slog sweep caught by Mukesh Kumar, followed by Aaron Hardie also falling for eight. Patel then changed ends and dismissed Ben McDermott for 19 before Tim David and Matt Short were both caught out. This left Wade, who had played a supporting role in the previous game with Glenn Maxwell, with too big of a task to complete on his own as the required run rate increased.

Wade remarked, “We struggled to handle the spin in the middle of the game. In the fourth and fifth overs, they gained control and didn’t release it. We have a few things to improve on, particularly when facing spin.”

In the beginning, the bowlers Ben Dwarshuis (three for 40) and Jason Behrendorff (two for 32) from the left arm took some late wickets to finish off Australia’s strongest bowling display in the series. Rinku Singh (46) scored the most runs for India, but their hopes of reaching a total of 200 were shattered by a disastrous final nine balls.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, aged 37, took an aggressive approach at the beginning but his dismissal led to a collapse of three wickets for 13 runs in the top order. Shreyas Iyer (eight runs) was next to fall, followed by Suryakumar Yadav (one run) who was caught out, giving Dwarshuis his first ever wicket in T20I.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, at the age of 32, was consistently unable to take the lead before being dismissed by Tanveer Sangha, who took two wickets for 30 runs with his wrist-spin. Rinku and Jitesh Sharma, scoring 35 and 56 runs respectively, formed a partnership that added 56 runs rapidly for the fifth wicket, posing a threat to India’s dominance.

Jitesh’s exit, hitting Dwarshuis to Head at the boundary in the 19th over, led to the late collapse of the team. Within 11 deliveries, five wickets fell as Behrendorff delivered a strong final over, only conceding six runs and taking three wickets.

The last game of the series will take place in Bengaluru on Sunday (Monday AEDT).

Source: theguardian.com