Axar shines as India claim T20Is

Raipur, Dec 1: Ignored for the upcoming assignment in South Africa, left-arm spinner Axar Patel responded with excellent figures of 3/16 as India got the better of Australia by 20 runs in the fourth T20I to win the five-match series here on Friday.
This was India’s fifth consecutive T20I series on trot.
Rinku Singh blazed away to a 29-ball 46 while Jitesh Sharma smashed 35 in 19 balls before Australia pulled things back to stop India at 174 for nine after the visitors opted to bowl first.
Cruising at 167 for four in 18.3 overs, India lost five wickets for only seven runs in the last two overs, thanks to Ben Dwarshuis (3/40) and Jason Behrendorff (2/32).
In reply, Australia were restricted to 154 for seven in 20 overs as India took an unassailable 3-1 lead with a match to go. Matthew Wade remained not out on 36 off 23 balls.
Axar Patel (3/16) and Ravi Bishnoi (1/17) were magnificent, bowling eight overs for only 33 runs with four scalps to their credit. There was no dew and hence the target of 175 became defendable unlike Guwahati. Both spinners hit immaculate lengths and mostly bowled stump to stump which became Australia’s undoing.
Earlier, Hardie started the match with a maiden over before Yashasvi Jaiswal (37 off 28 balls) got off the mark with a lovely cover drive Jason Behrendorff.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (32 off 28 balls) watched the action from the other end as Jaiswal went after the bowling and when the former did get strike for the first time in the fourth over, he employed the cut shot off a Behrendorff delivery to open his account with a boundary.
Going for one too many, Jaiswal could not connect well enough and McDermott completed a good catch running from mid-on, as India reached 50 for one at the end of powerplay.
Joining the side after a small break following the World Cup, vice-captain Shreyas Iyer (8), looking to hit leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha out of the ground, could not get enough power or elevation.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav (1) casually edged Dwarshuis to the keeper, leaving India at 63 for three in the beginning of the ninth over and the crowd at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium silent.
The partisan spectators were however not required to keep quiet for long as Rinku got going straightaway, his customary powerful strokes aiding him.
Rinku and Ruturaj added 48 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter was dismissed by Sangha. But that did not deter Rinku from playing his natural game and he found an able ally in Jitesh, the two adding 50 runs in just 29 balls to lift India’s run rate.
Jitesh, however, fell when he was looking good to add a few more runs. (PTI)