In the fourth Twenty20 International in Raipur on Friday, Team India all-rounder Axar Patel showed his A game after a string of lacklustre outings, helping his side defeat Australia by 20 runs. This was also India’s 14th home series victory in Twenty20 international cricket. The victory gave them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. The team also broke the previous record for most T20I victories, surpassing Pakistan, their neighbours, in the process. With this result, India won their 136th Twenty20 international match, while Pakistan had already won 135 matches. South Africa (95), Australia (95), and New Zealand (102) come next.
Matthew Wade won the toss and invited India to bat to begin the proceedings in Raipur. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, the opening pair, put on 50 runs for the first wicket before Aaron Hardie removed the former for 37 runs (28). This gave India a respectable start.
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Then, with Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav falling for single-digit scores in the eighth and ninth overs, Australia made two swift advances. Rinku Singh scored a brilliant 46 off of 29 balls, and Jitesh Sharma was equally impressive as they led India to a respectable 174/9 in 20 overs. Sharma struck 35 in 19 balls, including three maximums and one boundary.
In response, Australia got off to a great start, only to have Ravi Bishnoi spoil the fun. After Travis Head and Josh Philippe combined for 40 runs in just three overs, he dismissed Philippe for 8(7), sparking an Indian rally. Subsequently, Axar Patel entered the scene and eliminated the large fish, Travis Head. He then introduced double blows to Ben McDermott and Aaron Hardie.
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In his allotted overs, Axar gave up just 16 runs and came back with three wickets, helping India limit Australia to 154/7 in 20 overs. Ravi Bishnoi, who took one wicket and conceded just 17 runs in his four overs, was a huge help to Axar.
India will now play Australia in the final Twenty20 International in Bengaluru on Sunday after winning the series. This will be the team’s last home game before going on a tour of South Africa, where they will play two Tests, three ODIs, and as many T20Is.
