Team India Takes Unbeatable 3-1 Lead in T20I Series against Australia in Raipur

The Man in Blue won the 4^th T20I match against the sixth time ICC World Cup Champion Australia by 20 runs and also seals the series by 3-1, with one match remaining on Sunday.

Earlier, Australia won the toss and opted to field first with dew being considered a factor.

Jaiswal and R Gaikwad provided a platform by scoring (37 off 28) and (32 off 28) after which India lost their vice-skipper and skipper early.

Rinku Singh (46 off 29) and Jitesh Sharma (35 off 19) in the middle put up 56 run partnership which led the team to post a total of 174 runs.

In the second innings, Travis Head opened the innings powerfully scoring 31 off 16 but as soon as the spinners stepped in, they kept on taking wickets and put the opposition under pressure. Then wickets fell one by one! M Wade (36* off 23) fired but couldn't finish the game well. Axar Patel was the highest wicket-taker with three wickets.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Matthew Wade, Australian skipper said, "We did not play spin well. We lost a few wickets in the middle as well. The guys came in and did a good job with the ball but unfortunately, we couldn't bat well. We just want to continue to learn from the guys who are already established in the team. To have depth in the squad is really key as the T20 World Cup is around the corner."

On the other hand, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav said, "Everything went well other than the toss. The Boys showed character and that was most important for us. We spoke in the meeting before the game to go out and express and be fearless. Axar under bowled superbly. The plan was to go for the Yorkers and then see what happens."

Axar Patel was declared as the Player of the Match.

While accepting the Player of the Match award, Axar Patel said, "I was trying a lot of things and it came out well today. I stuck to my strengths. To stay attacking and be mentally strong is important. During the break, I focussed on improving myself and adding new variations to my bowling."

Also Read: Maxwell Upsets Guwahati Crowd, Keeps Aus In Series