India openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill (Pic credit: BCCI) NEW DELHI: India captain Suryakumar Yadav credited his team’s “tactical awareness and smart batting” for their 48-run victory over Australia in the fourth T20I on Thursday, a victory that gave India an elusive 2-1 lead in the five-match series.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Defending a modest total of 167/8 at the Carrara Oval, the Indian bowlers produced a suffocating performance to bowl out Australia for 119 in 18.2 overs. Axar Patel and Shivam Dube shared two wickets while Washington Sundar cleaned up the tail with a dream 3-for-3 spell.
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“I feel credit goes to all the batsmen,” Suryakumar said after the match. “The way Shubman (Gill) and Abhishek (Sharma) started, they knew it wasn’t a 200-220 wicket. They batted smartly. It was a complete team effort.”India’s disciplined bowling attack then took control despite the slight dew under the lights. “The message was clear – me and Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) were on the same page. There was a bit of dew but the bowlers adjusted quickly,” Suryakumar said. “It’s good to have bowlers who can give you two or three overs and step up if needed.
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All-rounders Dube (2/20) and Sundar (3/3) were instrumental and struck at key moments to derail Australia’s chase after Mitchell Marsh (30) and Matthew Short (25) gave them a solid start.Australian captain Mitchell Marsh admitted that his team struggled to build a partnership on a difficult surface. “I thought 167 was par. We failed to get over the line. Fair play to India – they are a world-class team,” he said.Player of the match Axar Patel, who contributed a quickfire 21 and figures of 2/20, said he relied on assessing the conditions. “There was some unexpected bounce, so I concentrated on hitting a good length and kept it from wicket to wicket,” said Axar.The series finale is played in Brisbane on Saturday.
