India clinch series with 20-run win
Preview: Team India will have another shot at series victory when they take on Australia in the fourth and penultimate T20I in Raipur on Friday. The Men in Blue, led by Suryakumar Yadav, did have an opportunity to clinch the series when the two teams faced off in the third match in Guwahati on Tuesday.
And while Ruturaj Gaikwad’s (123) century led India to 222/3 after being put to bat, in Australia’s reply, Glenn Maxwell (104) continued doing what he does the best in limited-overs cricket.
Australia were 128/4 while chasing at one stage, but Maxwell and skipper Matthew Wade forged an unbeaten 91-run stand to take the visitors home with five wickets to spare and keep the series alive, despite India holding a 2-1 lead.
Pacer Prasidh Krishna (0/68) was at the receiving end of things in the death overs and much will be expected from him in Raipur. Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) was the most economical.
Following a short break after the ODI World Cup final, Shreyas Iyer has joined the squad, and will be SKY’s deputy for the last two matches. The presence of Iyer in the squad will be a big boost for the Men in Blue, who finished with 530 runs in the World Cup.
Another returning cricketer, Deepak Chahar, was included in the squad for fellow pacer Mukesh Kumar, who had been granted leave ahead of the third match for his wedding.
Australia, meanwhile, have let go of six of their seven World Cup winning members, with Travis Head the only member from the squad to stay back. The likes of Josh Philippe, Ben Dwarshius and Ben McDermott have been added in the squad as replacements.
Squads:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain),Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer, Jitesh Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube
Australia: Matthew Wade (Captain), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Aaron Hardie, Ben McDermott, Chris Green, Ben Dwarshuis, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha, Kane Richardson, Josh Philippe