Washington Sundar’s stunning 3/3 spell, backed by Axar Patel and Shivam Dube’s two-wicket hauls, powered India to a commanding 48-run victory over Australia in the fourth T20I at Carrara Oval on Thursday. The win gave India a decisive 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Bowlers Turn The Game After Modest Batting Effort
After being restricted to 167/8 on a tricky, two-paced pitch, India’s bowlers turned the contest around in emphatic fashion. Captain Suryakumar Yadav used six bowlers, all of whom struck, with Sundar, Axar, and Dube leading the charge.
The message was clear. There was a bit of dew, but the bowlers adapted quickly. Everyone chipped in and raised their hand for the team.
Australia, cruising at 67/1, suffered a dramatic collapse — losing their last nine wickets for just 52 runs — to be bundled out for 119 in 18.2 overs.
Australia’s Chase Derails After Bright Start
Openers Matthew Short and Mitchell Marsh began briskly, striking six boundaries early. But once Axar trapped Short lbw and bowled Josh Inglis, the chase unravelled. Dube dismissed Marsh with a clever slower ball, triggering a middle-order meltdown.
Tim David miscued Dube to extra cover, Josh Philippe fell to Arshdeep Singh, and Glenn Maxwell was undone by a Varun Chakaravarthy googly that clipped off stump.
Sundar then cleaned up Marcus Stoinis and Xavier Bartlett in quick succession; claiming his 50th T20I wicket, before Jasprit Bumrah (1/14) and Sundar wrapped up the innings.
We thought 167 was par. India bowled really well. It’s good for us to test a few combinations ahead of the next series.
Top-Order Promise, But Middle-Order Stumble For India
Earlier, India got off to a bright 49-run opening stand through Abhishek Sharma (28) and Shubman Gill (46), but the middle order couldn’t build on the platform. From 121/2, India slipped to 136/6 as Australia fought back through Nathan Ellis (3/21) and Adam Zampa (3/45).
Promoted to No. 3, Dube struck a six and a four before chopping on to Ellis. Suryakumar injected pace with two big sixes off Zampa, but fell soon after to Bartlett. Tilak Varma and Jitesh Sharma departed cheaply as India’s innings lost momentum late, managing only 46 runs in the final six overs.
Credit to the openers for reading the pitch well. It wasn’t a 200-plus surface, and they batted smartly.
Axar’s All-Round Impact
Axar Patel, who contributed a handy 20 and later claimed 2/20, was named among the standout performers.
I waited for my moment to hit, and while bowling, I just focused on each batter’s strength.
Brief Scores: India 167/8 (Shubman Gill 46, Abhishek Sharma 28; Nathan Ellis 3-21, Adam Zampa 3-45) Australia 119 all out in 18.2 overs (Mitchell Marsh 30, Matthew Short 25; Washington Sundar 3-3, Axar Patel 2-20). India won by 48 runs; lead series 2-1.
