RAIPUR: Life hasn’t been kind to Axar Patel in recent times. First, a quadricep injury ruled the left-arm spinner out of the ODI World Cup. On Thursday, he received another jolt when was dropped from India’s T20 squad for the upcoming series in South Africa.
Within 24 hours of that snub, Axar proved a point, taking 3/16 in four overs — including the prize wicket of Travis Head — to star in India’s series-clinching 20-run win in the fourth T20I against Australia here on Friday. On a pitch where the ball was turning a bit under lights, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi too delivered a good performance, taking 1-17 in his four overs.
Bishnoi first took out Josh Philippe’s off-stump as the batter tried to sweep a typically fast, flat delivery. Axar then got into the act in the fifth over as Head miscued a slogsweep, only for Mukesh Kumar to complete the catch at short third-man. Axar then castled Aaron Hardie (8) and Ben McDermott (19) as both batsmen tried in vain to smash him out of the ground.
Cheered on by a packed house of around 50,000 spectators witnessing the maiden T20I at this venue, India eventually restricted Australia to 154/7 in 20 overs chasing 175 to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. The fifth and final T20I in Bangalore on Sunday is now of academic interest.
Asked to take first strike by the Aussies, India lost both their captain, Suryakumar Yadav (1) and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer (8) cheaply, but Rinku Singh (46; 29b, 4×4, 2×6), perhaps celebrating his maiden ODI call-up for the South Africa tour, and the impressivelooking ’keeper-bat Jitesh Sharma (35; 19b, 1×4, 3×6), playing his first game of the series, took India to 174/9.
Iyer holed out to long-on off leggie Tanveer Sangha while ‘SKY’ became Dwarshuis’ maiden T20I wicket, reducing India to 63/3 in the ninth over.
In walked Rinku. Ultra-confident in his strokeplay, the left-hander unleashed a perfect switch hit for six off Green in the 12th over before smoking Dwarshuis for the biggest six of the series — the shot of the match — over wide long on in the 13th over.
Looking set to hit second gear, Ruturaj Gaikwad perished to Sangha, edging off an inside-out stroke, but Jitesh-one of the four changes to India’s XI for the night and replacing Ishan Kishan, showed his mettle, smacking Green for two sixes in the 15th over. Later, he thrashed Hardie for a six to fine leg, adding 56 in just 32 balls with Rinku for the fifth wicket as the duo ensured India have a competitive total on board. Playing for India for the first time since the Asian Games in China in October, Jitesh justified the decision to rest regular ‘keeper-bat Ishan Kishan and play him tonight.
Having been hammered for 200- plus total each time in this series, Australia did well to bounce back in the final two overs, giving away just 13 runs while taking five wickets to spoil India’s final flourish.
Fighting back from the pasting he received at the hands of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku, seamer Ben Dwarshuis (3-40 in three overs) gave away just seven runs in the penultimate over, while picking the wickets of Jitesh and Axar Patel.
Steaming in to bowl the final over of the innings, left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff (2-32 in four overs) -the best quick on either side in this series -conceded just six runs, taking out Rinku lbw with a brilliant yorker, and then pocketing Deepak Chahar’s scalp too.
Earlier, India were off to a flyer as Jaiswal (37, 28b, 6×4, 1×6) looked to take down the second-strong Aussie bowling attack.
After failing to take a run off the first over of the match from seamer Aaron Hardie, the aggressive lefthander came into his own, taking three fours off Dwarshuis in the third over, and a four and six off debutant offspinner Chris Green in the fifth over, which went for 14.
Jaiswal’s blazing strokeplay saw India gallop to 50 in the Powerplay overs, before he fell while trying to pull off one stroke too many.
