India's Axar Patel (second from left) celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Australia's Travis Head during the fourth Twenty20 international cricket match between India and Australia at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur on December 1, 2023. - AFP
RAIPUR, India (AP): Twelve days after losing the Cricket World Cup final at home to Australia, India rebounded by winning their Twenty20 series.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel took 3-16 in four overs as India beat Australia by 20 runs in the fourth T20 on Friday to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Patel combined with wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi (1-17) as the duo bowled eight overs between them and picked up four wickets for just 33 runs.
Australia was restricted to 154-7 in pursuit of India’s 174-9 after Australia captain Matthew Wade won the toss and chose to bowl first on the Raipur pitch.
India's Rinku Singh smacked 46 off 29 balls, including four fours and two sixes, to help revive the hosts from 111-4 in 13.2 overs.
Wade top scored for Australia with a 23-ball 36 not out. Opener Travis Head hit 31 runs in 16 deliveries.
India won the first T20 by two wickets and the second match by 44 runs before Australia bounced back with a five-wicket win in the third T20, thanks to Glenn Maxwell’s fourth international T20 hundred.
Bengaluru will host the fifth T20 on Sunday.
India got a good start from its openers as Yashasvi Jaiswal hit 37 and Ruturaj Gaikwad contributed 32, both off 28 balls.
The duo put on 50 off 36 but Australia pegged India back afterward. Jaiswal was dismissed by Aaron Hardie (1-20) before India was down to 63-3 with Shreyas Iyer (8) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (1) falling cheaply.
Iyer, who had joined the Indian squad for the remaining two matches, fell to wrist spinner Tanveer Sangha, who also claimed Gaikwad's wicket and returned 2-30 in four overs. Yadav was Ben Dwarshuis’ first wicket, and the left-arm pacer finished with 3-40.
Singh put on 48 runs with Gaikwad for the fourth wicket, and then added another 56 off 32 balls with Jitesh Sharma.
Sharma’s 35 off 19 balls provided India impetus toward the end, even as it lost the last five wickets for seven runs in eight balls.
In reply, Australia openers Head and Josh Philippe added 40 runs before India’s spinners got into the act.
Head hit five fours and a six but was caught off Patel.
Bishnoi bowled Philippe for eight before Patel struck twice. He bowled both Ben McDermott (19) and Hardie (8).
The visitors were down to 87-4 in 11.2 overs. Tim David (19) and Matthew Short (22) got starts but failed to capitalize, both falling to Deepak Chahar (2-44) in pursuit of the required run rate.
Wade hit two fours and two sixes, but the target was beyond his reach with 31 needed off the last over.
It was the first T20 international match hosted at the SVNS Stadium in Raipur.
Australia made several changes with Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis and Sean Abbott flying home.
India made four changes, completely turning around its pace attack from the first three games. - AP
