Cricket: India take 2-1 lead in T20I series with 48-run victory against Australia at Carrara Oval
Gill, Sundar lead India to series lead on Gold Coast
After a disappointing performance in the ODIs, India has now taken the upper hand in the T20I leg of their tour of Australia, having secured a 48-run victory and confirmed our cricket predictions at the Carrara Oval on Thursday afternoon.
Put in to bat first by Mitchell Marsh, the Men in Blue got off to a solid start, with Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill producing an impressive opening stand of 56 runs in 6.4 overs before the former was dismissed by Adam Zampa for 28 runs off 21 deliveries.
Gill went on to score 46 from 39 balls, and while no other Indian batter managed to surpass the 30-run mark, the likes of Shivam Dube, Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel all contributed innings at better than a run-a-ball to get their side to 167/8.
In response, Australia looked well on their way to victory at 67-1 in the ninth over, but that was before they suffered a stunning collapse, losing nine wickets for just 52 runs to finish on 119 all out, 48 runs shy of the target.
Following up on his excellent performance in Hobart, Washington Sundar ended with the best bowling figures for India, claiming three wickets in just 1.2 overs, while Shivam Dube and Azar Patel bagged two scalps each, with the latter being awarded Player of the Match.
India now hold the advantage heading to the Gabba for the fifth and final T20I this weekend, and they will be hoping to finish off the job to help build up momentum ahead of their home series against South Africa, which gets underway on October 14.
Rishabh Pant returns: BCCI announce Test squad for South Africa Tour
The Board of Control for Cricket in India have released India’s 15-man squad for their upcoming Test series against world champions South Africa, with the headline inclusion being that of Rishabh Pant, who has been out of action since sustaining an injury in England.
Pant will resume duty behind the stumps and as the team’s vice captain to Shubman Gill, while Dhruv Jurel has been rewarded for his impressive performances against the West Indies by being included as the backup wicket-keeper option.
Other notable selection decisions include Axar Patel and Akash Deep both earning call-ups, while Prasidh Krishna, Narayan Jagadeesan and Mohammed Shami have all been overlooked. Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma is also expected to make his return during this series.
India and South Africa Test Squads
Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep
Temba Bavuma (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne
