India registered a 48-run win over Australia in the fourth T20I in Queensland on Thursday, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
After being put into bat, India posted 167/8, with Shubman Gill top-scoring with 46. Abhishek Sharma (28), Shivam Dube (22), and captain Suryakumar Yadav (20) provided crucial contributions to give India a defendable total. Axar Patel (21 not out) struck valuable boundaries in the final overs to push the score past 160.
Australia, chasing 168, never got going and were bundled out for 119 in 18.2 overs. Mitchell Marsh was the top-scorer with 30 off 24 balls, while India’s bowlers ran through the Australian lineup. Washington Sundar was the star with 3/3, snapping three quick wickets late in the innings. Axar Patel (2/20) and Shivam Dube (2/20) also picked up two wickets each, with Varun Chakravarthy (1/26) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/27) chipping in. Australia lost their last seven wickets for just 28 runs, sealing a comprehensive win for India.
Suryakumar Yadav impressed both with a quick 20-run cameo and his captaincy, particularly in bowling rotations and DRS decisions, while the contributions from Axar, Dube, and Sundar proved decisive.
The series now shifts to Brisbane for the fifth and final T20I on Saturday, with India holding the advantage and needing just one win to clinch the series.
All-rounder Shivam Dube said the total posted by India was good enough considering the ground dimensions and the bowlers executed their plans to perfection to beat Australia.
"167 on this ground is definitely a good score because the quality bowling we have, the spinners, the fast bowlers...I trust them and the whole team trust our bowlers," Dube said at the post-match press conference.
"Definitely it's a T20 game and any of the batter can come and smack but on this ground where the side boundaries are big, we had planned it very nicely and we had confidence that we can stop them."
He further elaborated India's bowling plans, saying: "The plan was to bowl on the sides which have bigger boundaries because it is difficult to hit big, I think the boundaries were 80m plus.
"We knew it won't be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides."
(With inputs from PTI)