New Delhi: Team India defeated Australia by 48 runs in the fourth T20I at the Carrara Oval in Queensland on Thursday, November 6. Chasing the target of
168 runs, the hosts got off to a steady start as Matthew Short and Mitchell Marsh hit boundaries against the Indian fast bowlers.
At 91/4 in 11 overs, the Aussies looked well set to chase down the target, but the Indian spinners and Shivam Dube’s vital contribution helped the Men in Blue to impressively defend what had initially seemed a slightly below-par total to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the T20I series.
From 121/2 after 14 overs, on a surface that captain Suryakumar Yadav had termed subcontinental at the toss, the Indian team only managed to post 167 runs on the board, largely due to the crucial breakthroughs provided by Adam Zampa and a late flourish from Nathan Ellis.
But the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals in the initial stage of their chase before collapsing to lose 7 wickets for 28 runs. Axar Patel conceded just 20 runs in his four overs, including 12 dot balls, while Dube claimed the important wicket of Tim David. Varun Chakravarthy’s last delivery of the spell all but sealed the clash when Glenn Maxwell failed to pick a googly.
India’s T20I record in Australia
The Men in Blue continue their unbeaten bilateral T20I series streak in Australia. In the four previous series, India have won two and drawn two each. India drew the two-match T20I series against Australia in 2011/12, and then whitewashed the Aussies 3-0 in the 2015-16, under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
The Men in Blue drew the 2018/19 T20I series and won 2-1 in 2020/21. They have an unassailable 2-1 lead with one match to go in the ongoing series in Australia. The final match of the five-match series will be played on Saturday, November 8 at The Gabba in Brisbane. India are yet to lose a T20I series under coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav.
