India got off to another brisk start with the bat before Yashasvi Jaiswal (21 off 15) fell in his attempt to keep attacking. Ruturaj Gaikwad (10 off 12) chipped a simple catch to mid-off off, trying to loft Ben Dwarshuis. A brilliant catch by Ben McDermott off Dwarshuis’ bowling ended Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav’s (5) stay at the crease.
Rinku Singh (6) had a rare failure as India were four down for 55. Shreyas Iyer (53 off 37) and Jitesh Sharma (24 off 16) gave the innings some momentum. After the latter fell to Aaron Hardie, Axar Patel came in and chipped in with a crucial 31 off 21 balls. Shreyas fell immediately after crossing his half-century, yorked by Nathan Ellis.
Chasing 161, Travis Head (28 off 18) began in aggressive fashion, but Josh Philippe (4) was bowled for the second game in a row, this time by Mukesh Kumar. Australia’s hopes suffered a big blow when Head was knocked over by Ravi Bishnoi. The leg-spinner also dismissed Aaron Hardie for 6 off 10 balls.
Axar got a big wicket for India, dismissing the dangerous Tim David a run-a-ball 17. The batter top-edged what seemed like a half-hearted stroke. Matthew Short (16) and skipper Matthew Wade (22 off 15) kept Australia’s hopes alive, but India held their nerve to register another win in the series.
Axar finished with figures of 1/14 from his four overs, while Mukesh had figures of 3/32, Bishnoi 2/29 and Arshdeep Singh 2/40.
Speaking after being named Player of the Match, Axar said, “Today was fun. There was dew in the first four matches. Today, it was a tailor-made wicket for me. After a couple of games, I was able to find my rhythm.”
--By A Cricket Correspondent
