Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and bowlers star as India make it 4–1 against Australia

Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and bowlers starred for India in a hard fought game as they won the series 4–1. Let’s take a look at how the game played out.

Australia won the toss and opted to field first

First Innings:

India get off to a decent start: India got off to a decent start as their openers- Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad put on 33 runs for the first wicket. But why did they start well? Even though there was a bit of swing for the pacers, the ball was coming onto the bat nicely which led to easy run scoring.

Yashasvi Jaiswal got India off to a flying start again
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

Ruturaj Gaikwad complimented him well as the two added 33 runs for the first wicket
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

India lose quick wickets: After the 33 run opening stand, India lost quick wickets as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh got out in quick succession. Ben Dwarshuis took out Ruturaj Gaikwad and Suryakumar Yadav, Jason Behrendorff got Yashasvi Jaiswal while Tanveer Sangha got Rinku Singh. But why did they lose their wickets? This was not the usual Chinnaswamy flat pitch. It was dry and there was help for both pacers and spinners. As a result, India lost quick wickets. Jaiswal got out playing the short ball as he was cramped for room. Gaikwad didn’t get enough elevation on the straight loft and he was caught at mid off. SKY cut a short ball straight to backward point. The ball didn’t come onto the bat again. Rinku Singh mistimed the slog sweep and got out. With these four wickets, 33/0 became 55/4 in no time.

Ben Dwarshuis took out Ruturaj Gaikwad and Suryakumar Yadav to dent India in their innings
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Jason Behrendorff took the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal while Tanveer Sangha took out Rinku Singh as India lost 4 quick wickets
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

Shreyas Iyer and Jitesh Sharma rebuild for India: Shreyas Iyer and Jitesh Sharma rebuild for India 42 run stand for the fifth wicket. But why did Australia let it slip? Both Iyer and Jitesh came out with attacking intent and even though there were some edges on their shots, they still managed to keep Australia on the back foot through their aggressive hitting. With this stand, the score moved to 97/4.

Shreyas Iyer led the fightback for India with his 53 run knock and also shared a crucial 42 run stand with Jitesh Sharma
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

Jitesh Sharma also came out attacking and ensured India gained some momentum in their batting innings
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

Aaron Hardie strikes for Australia: Aaron Hardie struck for Australia as he removed Jitesh Sharma for 24 runs. But why did Jitesh get out? He mistimed a short ball from Hardie and holed out to deep mid wicket. The shot was on but Jitesh couldn’t time it well. With this wicket, the score moved to 97/5.

Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel take India to a fighting total: After the dismissal of Jitesh, Iyer and Axar Patel continued their attacking intent and helped India post a fighting total as they finished with 160/8 in their 20 overs. Iyer and Axar shared a 46 run stand for the sixth wicket. During their stand, Shreyas Iyer scored his 8th fifty in T20 Internationals. Even though both of them got out for 53 and 31 respectively, they ensured India had runs on the board. The pacers shared 6 wickets between them while the lone spinner, Tanveer Sangha took one as India finished on a high on a two paced track.

Axar Patel scored crucial 31 runs in the lower order and along with Shreyas Iyer's innings ensured that India had a respectable total on the board
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

Second Innings:

Australia start decently: Just like India, Australia also started decently as their openers- Travis Head and Josh Phillipe put on 22 runs for the first wicket. But why did they start well? As mentioned above, even with a little swing available with the new ball, it was coming onto the bat nicely which led to a flurry of boundaries.

Travis Head started strong for Australia once again
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Mukesh Kumar strikes for India: Mukesh Kumar struck for India as he dismissed Josh Phillipe for 4 runs. But why did Phillipe lose his wicket? He was decieved by the slowness of the pitch as he chopped a good length ball onto his stumps. With this wicket, the score moved to 22/1.

Mukesh Kumar struck for India as he removed Josh Phillipe for 4 runs. He also took the wickets of Matthew Short and Ben Dwarshuis to finish with a three fer
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

Travis Head and Ben McDermott counter attack: Travis Head and Ben McDermott counterattacked for Australia with a quick 25 run stand. But why did India let it slip? Both the batters came out all guns blazing and took the opposition bowlers down with elan which caught India off guard. With this stand, the score moved to 47/1.

Ben McDermott and Travis Head shared a quickfire 25 run stand for the second wicket to help Australia's come back. Just like Iyer, McDermott also scored a fifty (54) for his team
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

Ravi Bishnoi strikes for India: Ravi Bishnoi struck for India as he removed Travis Head and Aaron Hardie in quick succession. Head scored 28 while Hardie made 6. But why did they get out? Head misread the googly from Bishnoi to be bowled while Hardie was caught by Iyer at long on. Even though he picked the googly, he got the timing wrong to lose his wicket. With these wickets, the score moved to 55/3.

Ravi Bishnoi removed Travis Head and Aaron Hardie in quick succession to dent Australia in their chase
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-in-india-2023-24-1389381/india-vs-australia-5th-t20i-1389395/match-photo

Tim David and Ben McDermott rebuild for Australia: Tim David and Ben McDermott rebuild for Australia through a 47 run stand for the fourth wicket. But why did India let it slip? With help available for spinners, both the batters played cautiously against the spinners while they attacked the pacers. This caught India off guard. During this stand, McDermott also brought up his 2nd T20I fifty. With this stand, the score moved to 102/3.

Axar Patel strikes for India: Axar Patel struck for India as he removed Tim David for 17 runs. But why did David get out? He mistimed the pull shot to lose his wicket to an innocuous good length delivery. India got this wicket because of the batters mistake, not because of the pitch being slow. With this wicket, the score moved to 102/4.

Australia lose quick wickets: After the dismissal of David, Australia could not recover, as they lost wickets at regular intervals. But why did Australia lose their way? The incoming new batters could not keep up with the high run rate required and thus played false shots which led to them losing their wickets. Ben McDermott’s wicket was a big blow for Australia as he was the only batter who scored a fifty. Arshdeep Singh took that wicket to make up for an expensive day at work.

Matthew Wade’s efforts go in vain again: Matthew Wade’s fighting 22 run knock went in vain as India won the game by 6 runs. Arshdeep Singh took his wicket to finish with a brace while Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel shared 6 wickets between them to help India win the game.

As seen from the above analysis, India had the runs on the board on a two paced wicket. Australia could not chase it down as their inexperienced middle order crumbled under pressure once again. What were the positives for India? The form of the openers, Rinku Singh finishing games and good death bowling would be some of the things India would be happy with. As far as Australia is concerned, with some of their key players missing, they still put up a fight in every game and their Captain’s form would be a huge positive for them heading into the T20 World Cup next year.

Brief Scores:

India: 160/8 (Shreyas Iyer- 53, Axar Patel- 31, Jitesh Sharma- 24, Yashasvi Jaiswal- 21, Ben Dwarshuis- 2/30, Jason Behrendorff- 2/38, Nathan Ellis- 1/42, Tanveer Sangha- 1/26, Aaron Hardie- 1/21)

Australia: 154/8 (Ben McDermott- 54, Travis Head-28, Matthew Wade- 22, Tim David- 17, Mukesh Kumar- 3/32, Arshdeep Singh-2/40, Ravi Bishnoi- 2/29, Axar Patel- 1/14)

Note: I do not own any of these images. The credit for these images goes to espncricinfo.com. These images have been used to show what happened during the game.