Bowlers shine as India beat Australia by 6 runs; win series 4-1

Axar Patel was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’, while Ravi Bishnoi got the ‘Player of the Series’ award for nine wickets in the series.

By: Aditya Ahuja

Bowlers shine as India beat Australia by 6 runs; win series 4-adThe Indian bowling attack delivered a dominating performance, steering India to a thrilling 6-run victory against Australia in the fifth T20 match at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, securing the series with a 4-1 win.

Australia won the toss and chose to field first.

India began strongly, with Yashasvi Jaiswal leading the charge during the powerplay, scoring a brisk 21 off 15 balls before falling to Jason Behrendorff.

Ruturaj Gaikwad followed suit in the next over by Ben Dwarshuis after a slow start, departing for 10 off 12 balls. Wickets fell in the middle overs while Shreyas Iyer anchored the innings. Rinku Singh departed after a brief stint, managing only 6 off 8 balls.

Jitesh Sharma’s aggressive 24 off 16 balls featured three boundaries and a maximum before he was dismissed. Axar Patel contributed 31 off 21 balls in a 46-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer, but fell victim to Behrendorff’s bowling.

Shreyas Iyer’s valiant 53 came to an end against Nathan Ellis’s speedy yorker at 140 kmph. Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh added a couple of singles, propelling India to a total of 160/8.

Australia began their chase positively, with Travis Head smashing Arshdeep Singh for three boundaries in the first three balls of the innings. Mukesh Kumar claimed the initial breakthrough, dismissing Aussie opener Josh Philippe for 4 runs from 4 balls in the 2.3 overs (AUS 22-1). Ravi Bishnoi followed suit by dismissing Travis Head for a well-made 28 off 18 balls in the 4.5 overs (AUS 47-2).

Bishnoi struck again, removing Aaron Hardie for six runs from 10 balls in 6.6 overs (AUS 55-3). Tim David departed after Axar Patel sent him back for 17 runs off 17 balls in the 13.2 overs (AUS 102-4).

Arshdeep Singh claimed the crucial wicket of Ben McDermott, who scored 54 runs from 36 balls in the 14.6 overs (AUS 116-5). Matthew Short contributed 16 runs off 11 balls before Mukesh Kumar dismissed him in the 16.3 overs (AUS 129-6), also getting Ben Dwarshuis out for a duck in the next delivery (16.4 overs).

While defending 10 runs, Arshdeep Singh bowled a superb last over, dismissing Aussie skipper Matthew Wade for 22 runs off 15 balls on the third deliery (AUS 151-8).

Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh led the Indian bowling attack, taking three and two wickets respectively, while Ravi Bishnoi bagged two wickets in his spell, and Axar Patel grabbed one.

Axar Patel was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’, while Ravi Bishnoi got the ‘Player of the Series’ award for nine wickets in the series.

With this emphatic six-wicket win in the fifth T20 match, India marked their 19th victory against Australia in the 20-over format, becoming the second team to achieve this milestone. This win also stands as the second lowest victory margin in the history of ‘IND vs AUS’ T20 matches.