India has taken a 2-1 lead in the T20 series against Australia after the tourists sealed a crushing 48-run win at the Gold Coast’s Carrara Oval on Thursday evening.
Chasing a 168-run target for victory, the Australians were seemingly on track at 1-67 in the ninth over before a disastrous middle-order collapse of 9-52, rolled for 119 in 18.2 overs. It was Australia’s second lowest total in T20Is at home.
Earlier, seamer Nathan Ellis and spinner Adam Zampa, who recently celebrated the birth of his second child, claimed three wickets each to help restrict the tourists to 8-167 from their 20 overs.
Indian opener Abhishek Sharma was handed an early reprieve after Australian captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and chose to bowl first, with Xavier Bartlett spilling a regulation outfield catch second ball of the innings. After combining with opening partner Shubman Gill for a 56-run partnership, Sharma fell to Zampa following the Powerplay’s conclusion, picking out long-on for 28.
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A new Kookaburra was required when Shivam Dube slapped a monstrous six out of the ground before Ellis knocked over the Indian No. 3 and Gill with a pair of slower balls.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav slogged consecutive sixes against Zampa before holing out to deep mid-wicket to become Bartlett’s lone victim of the evening, a dismissal that sparked a brief collapse of 4-15 from 16 balls; Zampa removed Tilak Varma and Jitesh Sharma in the same over, the latter courtesy of an LBW review.
All-rounder Axar Patel, later named player of the match, contributed some handy runs during a late cameo of 21 not out from 11 balls, while a couple of sloppy misfields aided India’s cause.
MATCH CENTRE: Australia vs India fourth T20 scorecard
Matthew Short, elevated to open in the absence of Travis Head, cracked a rapid 25 before Patel trapped him on the pads from around the wicket, with India successfully reviewing the on-field decision. The left-armed tweaker also accounted for wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, bowled for 12 after miscuing a reckless slog.
Sharma put down a difficult diving chance to gift Marsh an extra life on 19, but the Indian star redeemed himself a couple of overs later by swallowing an outfield catch, removing the Australian skipper for 30. Wicket-taker Shivam Dube also bounced out the dangerous Tim David before specialist batter Josh Philippe and the returning Glenn Maxwell each fell cheaply, leaving the Australians in a spot of bother at 6-103.
And when all-rounder Washington Sundar dismissed Marcus Stoinis and Xavier Bartlett in consecutive balls, India’s victory was all but secured, with speedster Jasprit Bumrah helping clean up the tail.
The fifth and final T20 between Australia and India gets underway at the Gabba on Saturday at 7.15pm AEDT.
AUSSIE BATTING FALTERS AGAIN
Australia’s batters have failed to fire in this series, and they did so again on the Gold Coast with India’s bowlers putting the clamps.
Australia lost 9-62 in 57 balls in a stunning collapse to fall to 119 all out.
“Worrying, I think,” was how Australian great Mark Waugh summed up the display on commentary for Fox Cricket.
“The pitch has been a pretty good one to bat on.
“It’s slowed up a little bit, but it’s been a very even surface.
“You’d be disappointed being 1-67 and being beaten by 40 runs.
“I don’t think Australia would be too happy with their batting performance.”
The pitch was not easy for batters to get going from ball one, and Australia will be ruing those who got a start not going bigger.
When they won in Melbourne last Friday night, the chase became far more nerve-racking than it needed to be, losing late wickets to stagger over the line by four wickets when chasing 126.
The middle order were put to the test by Jasprit Bumrah because Mitchell Marsh (46), Travis Head (28) and Josh Inglis (20) did not finish the job.
In Hobart, Marcus Stoinis admitted post-game that their total of 186 was about 20 short despite he (64) and Tim David (74) striking half-centuries.
Fox Cricket’s Mark Waugh recalled David’s dismissal during Thursday night’s fourth T20, saying Australia could have won that game if he had not have gotten out with seven overs to go.
A similar trend of not capitalising on starts was on display on the Gold Coast.
Marsh (30 off 24) and newly promoted opening partner Matt Short (25 off 19) got the team off to a promising start but were dismissed once they had set a platform to take the game away from India.
The rest of the top six all got to double digits and then got out too.
“The Australians got off to a flyer,” Waugh said on commentary.
“At 1-67 they had the game under control.
“They were up with the rate, they were in front of the rate.
“The two big wickets, I think, Mitch Marsh and Tim David, really cut into the Australian batting order.
“Matt Short was in good form.”
“I actually thought it was a par score. Not a huge score,” Waugh added.
“The Indians just kept taking wickets. The spinners were the key and Dube’s two wickets were a bonus, to be honest.”
The most concerning thing for the Australians was the stranglehold of Indian’s spinners.
Six wickets fell to Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, who took 3-3 from 1.2 overs, and Varun Chakravarthy.
With a World Cup in India and Sri Lanka on the horizon, tackling the tweakers will now be a major focus area for improvement.
ELLIS REACHES STUNNING MILESTONE
Nathan Ellis just seems to be getting better with every game he plays for Australia.
The paceman was again Australia’s best bowler on Thursday night as he captured 3/21 from four overs.
Ellis changed the momentum of the innings during the middle overs when India appeared on track to make roughly 180.
His sole over in the powerplay conceded 11 runs off the back of two Shubman Gill boundaries, but his next two overs gave up just six runs.
In the 12th over, Ellis broke a dangerous 32-run partnership between Gill and Shivam Dube (22) with a back of a length off spinner that crashed into the top of Dube’s leg stump.
Three overs later, he then knocked over Gill (46) with an out the back of hand slower ball, just as the right-hander needed to put the foot down.
In the penultimate over of the innings, Ellis took his third for the night as Washington Sundar (12) picked out mid off in an over that only cost four runs.
That scalp took his wicket tally for the series to nine.
On his home ground in Hobart, Ellis also took three wickets on Sunday night, but all with full pace deliveries.
Ellis has been renowned as an effective death bowler, particularly because of his array of slower balls, but in this series, he has shown that he has many more tricks to his bow.
“He’s shown why he’s been in the wickets in this T20 series, and why he’s so successful in this format,” Ravi Shastri said on commentary.
“He’s got the yorker, he’s got the slower deliveries.
“He can release it from the back of the hand.
“He’s got a good bouncer.”
Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh is clearly aware of the destruction Ellis can cause as he has opted to introduce him into the attack earlier in the innings to act as a strike bowler rather than purely saving overs for the death.
He may not have the height or speed of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, but he is proving that he belongs alongside those big names in the shortest format.
Ellis became just the fifth Australian – after ‘the big three’ and Adam Zampa – to take 50 men’s T20I wickets.
He reached the milestone in just 31 matches and boasts the best average (17.46) and strike rate (13.36) of any of that quintet.
Ellis’ average is almost four runs better than the next best in Zampa, while his strike rate is almost four balls better than the leg spinner’s, who also is second best among that group.
The numbers show that Ellis deserves more appreciation than he is currently getting.
‘HE HAS A KNACK’: ZAMPA HOLDS AUSSIE KEY
One night after his second child was born, Adam Zampa once again showed how important he is too Australia in the shortest format.
The leg spinner lives in Byron Bay and made the dash roughly an hour north to the Gold Coast to rejoin the team, and he claimed three wickets in his return.
Zampa would not have been pleased with conceding 45 runs from his four overs as he was the victim of some big sixes as well as some poor fielding.
Especially considering Indian tweakers Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy gave away just 20 and 26 respectively from their four overs.
Zampa’s breakthroughs played a key role in pumping the brakes on the Indians innings, however.
He struck upon immediately entering the attack.
Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill got the visitors off to a fast start in the powerplay, sitting at 0/49 after six overs, but Zampa removed Sharma with a wrong un that was mistimed to Tim David at long on.
“He does this time and time again against India,” Shastri said on commentary following the dismissal.
“He has a good record, and he has a knack for breaking partnerships.”
It was the first blow landed by the hosts as they consistently took wickets to keep India well below a total of 180 or more that they appeared on track to post.
Zampa copped some tap during the middle overs but struck back late with the wickets of Tilak Varma (5) and Jitesh Sharma (3), who both fell to sweep shots.
The numbers are clear that if Zampa takes wickets, more often than not Australia win.
Coming into this match, he averaged 15.69 and boasts an economy of 6.62 in victories, while in losses those numbers sit at 40.28 and 8.58 respectively.
The difference is clear, and even though he would like to tidy up his economy rate, and the result did not go Australia’s way, they will need more wickets from Zampa at next year’s World Cup to win the tournament.
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