India has won five of their last six T20 internationals against Australia, losing only once. This fourth T20I marked the first time since October 2022 that Australia lost consecutive home fixtures in the shortest format.
India defeated Australia by 48 runs in the fourth T20I, securing an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Axar Patel was named Player of the Match for his outstanding performance with both bat and ball.
India posted a modest total of 167 runs for 8 wickets. Early contributions came from Abhishek Sharma (28), Shubman Gill (46), and Shivam Dube (22), building a strong foundation at 121 for 3 wickets. However, Nathan Ellis's bowling (3-21) triggered a collapse by dismissing Dube and Gill. India managed only 15 runs in the next three overs before Adam Zampa (3-45) helped contain them further. Axar Patel's unbeaten 21 late in the innings added valuable runs to reach a defendable total.
Australia’s bowling was led by Nathan Ellis, who took three wickets for 21 runs, and Adam Zampa, who took three for 45. Despite these efforts, Australia's batting struggled. Mitchell Marsh top-scored with 30 runs, followed by Tim David with 11. Axar Patel (2-20) and Shivam Dube (2-20) bowled effectively to restrict Australia and trigger a batting collapse.
India's spinners led by example as they impressively defended their total to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series.
Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube's bowling restricted Australia from chasing the total successfully.
Author's summary: India's well-rounded team effort, especially from spinners and Axar Patel's all-round performance, secured a commanding win over Australia to take a strong series lead.