Key events
That’s all from me this evening as India’s depth continues to shine through especially as Australia’s lineup is weakened by the departure of several first-choice players to pre-Test duties. We’ll be back on Saturday for the fifth and final T20 as Australia chase a victory in Brisbane to level the series.
But, for now, here is the full report from India’s 48-run win on the Gold Coast.
Australia can still level the series in the fifth and final T20 on Saturday but Mitch Marsh can’t hide his disappointment at letting this game slip.
We thought [India’s] 167 was par. But it provided us with a few challenges and we failed to go over the line. Fair play to India, they are a world-class team.
The Australia skipper refuses to blame the shake up in the squad as players leave to prepare for a certain red-ball series to come.
You ideally want to have an full-strength side at all times but the boys have a big series coming up. And we want to give more boys opportunities too. The more opportunities these guys get is great especially in a high-pressure game like this.
Australia lost 52 for 9 to be all out for 119 while Washington Sundar finished with 3-3 and Shivam Dube claimed 2-20 with the key wickets of Tim David and Mitch Marsh. But the player of the match award goes to Axar Patel who made an undefeated 21 off 11 coming in at No 8, and was even more important when taking 2-40 with ball in hand.
There was a bit of unexpected bounce so I waited for the right time and just hit. Whatever the team needs is my preferred [batting] position. I just want to make an impact for the team.
Axar had even more of an impact with the ball through the middle overs.
I was thinking about what’s the batter’s strength. If the batter was looking to hit me down the ground, I was looking to hit the good length.
India win by 48 runs
India take an insurmountable 2-1 lead in the T20 series with one game to play after a 48-run victory at Gold Coast Stadium. Australia failed to make the most of a fast start as the regular fall of middle-order wickets and a match-turning spell from Axar Patel (2-20) had the hosts all out for 119. Matt Short (25) and Mitch Marsh (30) put Australia in a promising position as the hosts raced to 67 for 1, but soft dismissals to Josh Inglis (12), Glenn Maxwell (2) and the captain left the tail with too much to do.
India’s innings had a similar theme as Shubman Gill top scored with 46 while a somewhat out-of-sorts Abhishek Sharma (28), Shivam Dube (22) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (20) added valuable support. The tourists suffered their own mini-collapse as Nathan Ellis (3-21) continued his outstanding series, but a late flurry from Axar (21 not out) helped his side to 167-8 which proved well beyond Australia.
18th over: Australia 118-9 (Ellis 1, Zampa 0) India close in on victory with one wicket to get on the Gold Coast.
WICKET! Dwarshuis b Bumrah 5 (Australia 118-9)
Jasprit Bumrah picks up his first wicket of the night with his final delivery as Ben Dwarshuis can’t keep out a yorker.
17th over: Australia 116-8 (Dwarshuis 4, Ellis 0) Washington Sundar picks up two wickets for two runs in his first over in the series as India’s depth of all-rounders shines through.
WICKET! Bartlett c & b Washington 0 (Australia 116-8)
Two in two balls for Washington Sundar as Xavier Bartlett gets a leading edge back to the bowler.
WICKET! Stoinis lbw b Washington 17 (Australia 116-7)
Washington Sundar traps Marcus Stoinis dead in front and the all-rounder has little choice but to throw away a review in hope at this stage of the game.
16th over: Australia 114-6 (Stoinis 16, Dwarshuis 3) Jasprit Bumrah returns for his third but can’t find a way through Ben Dwarshuis. Marcus Stoinis finds a much-needed boundary with a pull shot hammered through midwicket.
15th over: Australia 103-6 (Stoinis 8, Dwarshuis 0) A tight over from Varun Chakravarthy builds the pressure and Maxwell is the first to crack. But Stoinis isn’t helping matters with 8 runs from 13 balls.
WICKET! Maxwell b Varun 2 (Australia 103-6)
Glenn Maxwell steps back and swings wildly at the last ball of the over but fails to pick the wrong’un and it takes out his off-stump. There might have been a faint inside edge too. Australia are well and truly on the ropes.
14th over: Australia 99-5 (Stoinis 5, Maxwell 1) Glenn Maxwell joins Marcus Stoinis at the crease with Australia needing this to be a decent partnership if they are to reach their 168-run target. One wicket and only as many runs from Arshdeep Singh’s over.
WICKET! Philippe c Varun b Arshdeep 10 (Australia 98-5)
Josh Philippe whips the ball off his pads but it pops up to Varun to take a simple catch at midwicket. That was another soft dismissal as India get on top.
13th over: Australia 98-4 (Philippe 10, Stoinis 5) A quiet over from Axar Patel as the Australia pair are happy to see him off. The India spinner finishes with 2-20.
Enjoy this monster SIX from Tim David – before he was dismissed next ball by Shivam Dube.
12th over: Australia 95-4 (Philippe 8, Stoinis 4) Shivam Dube has the critical wickets of Tim David and Mitch Marsh. And very nearly adds Marcus Stoinis to his list of scalps. The Australia all-rounder cuts over point and only just clears the fielder on the way to the rope.
WICKET! David c Suryakumar b Dube 14 (Australia 91-4)
Tim David smacks Shivam Dube for a huge SIX down the ground – the ball almost lands in the top tier – but the India seamer responds immediately. A shorter ball gets big on David as he mis-times a pull shot and the ball pops up to Suryakumar at cover.
11th over: Australia 84-3 (David 8, Philippe 7) Tim David is holding back so far but can’t resist a shorter ball on leg stump as he pulls it to the deep midwicket rope. Seven from the Varun Chakravarthy over.
10th over: Australia 77-3 (David 3, Philippe 6) It feels all square at the halfway mark of Australia’s chase. Shivam Dube dismisses Mitch Marsh with a soft dismissal but Josh Philippe dispatches his first ball – too short at this pace – to the boundary.
WICKET! Marsh c Arshdeep b Dube 30 (Australia 70-3)
The Australia captain pulls a gentle delivery but mis-times it just enough to pick out Arshdeep Singh on the rope. The India pacer holds onto a tricky catch on the run.
9th over: Australia 68-2 (Marsh 30, David 1) Axar is keeping India in the contest but Marsh is going at better than a run a ball without too much effort. Tim David joins him at the crease.
WICKET! Inglis b Patel 12 (Australia 67-2)
Axar Patel has been the pick of the bowlers but this is all Josh Inglis’s undoing. The Australia keeper steps down the track, tilts the head back and looks to lift Axar into the next suburb but instead loses his stumps.
8th over: Australia 62-1 (Marsh 25, Inglis 12) DROPPED! Abhishek was given a life in the very first over of the game and he hands the Australia skipper one of his own as he grasses a diving catch. The India field charges in off the rope and makes up plenty of ground to reach the drop off the ball but it bounces out of his hands when his elbows hit the turf.
7th over: Australia 55-1 (Marsh 20, Inglis 10) Axar Patel begins the over with a confident appeal for caught behind against Mitch Marsh, and ends it in much the same way with keeper Jitesh convincing the captain to send the decision in favour of Josh Inglis upstairs. Not out and India lose a review. In between, Marsh sweeps a boundary at deep square leg as Washington dives over the ball.
6th over: Australia 48-1 (Marsh 13, Inglis 10) Bumrah returns as India look to turn the screw. But Josh Inglis is as comfortable as anyone has been against the India quick on these shores with a cut shot to the boundary and a controlled slice to the third man rope.
5th over: Australia 39-1 (Marsh 12, Inglis 1) Axel Patel sends Matt Short on his way as Josh Inglis joins the Australia captain.
WICKET! Short lbw b Patel 25 (Australia 37-1)
Matt Short misses with a sweep and Axar Patel is full of gusto in the appeal. The umpire gives the batter the benefit of the doubt but a review shows the ball hit Short in line with the stumps. A useful knock from 19 balls with two sixes and a couple of boundaries.
4th over: Australia 35-0 (Short 24, Marsh 11) Matt Short hammers another SIX! This time sending a half-tracker from Varun Chakravarthy over deep square leg. Short looks much more at home at the top of the order.
3rd over: Australia 26-0 (Short 17, Marsh 9) SIX! Short clobbers a slower but fuller delivery straight back over Arshdeep’s head. Short heads in the same direction for four over mid-off then an unconvincing pull from Marsh gets a top edge that sails over the keeper for another boundary.
2nd over: Australia 11-0 (Short 6, Marsh 5) Jasprit Bumrah unsettles Short with his first ball as it seams away from the right-hander. An inswinging yorker leaves the opener guessing but the ball travels too far and would have missed leg stump. Short gets away from the danger with a quick single and Marsh looks much more comfortable guiding the ball to the third man boundary.
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Short 5, Marsh 1) A fast start from Matt Short as he returns to opening alongside Mitch Marsh and guides the second ball of the innings to the rope at fine leg.
There have only been two men’s internationals – both T20Is – at Gold Coast Stadium in Carrara. South Africa beat Australia by 21 runs in the first of those in 2018 when rain forced the game to be reduced to 10 overs a side. Fans got their money’s worth in the most recent match in late 2022 as Australia chased down West Indies 146-run target with three wickets and only one ball remaining.
But even without much data to draw on, the thinking seems to be that India have enough runs on the board to be right in this.
Mitch Marsh and Matt Short are at the crease with Arshdeep Singh at the top of his mark. One slip in place, here we go …
It wouldn’t be an Ashes build up without former players and parochial media types bouncing barbs and jibes and bantz back and forth. The West Australian newspaper has taken it to another level and thrown a typographical grenade into the mixer.
England’s Cocky Captain Complainer, still smarting from ‘crease-gate’, lands in Perth early thinking dopey ‘BazBall’ can take the Ashes.
Australia have named a 15-player squad for the first Test with uncertainty around Cameron Green’s ability to bowl and play as a genuine all-rounder. If he can, Jake Weatherald is in line for a debut as an opener.
Here are my tips for how each of the 15 Australians will stare down the Bazball bravado and have an influence – or otherwise – on the Ashes series.
While we wait for the Australia batters to pad up, and ICYMI – Pat Cummins has given another insight into his availability for the Ashes.
The Australia captain bowled close to eight overs in the nets on Wednesday, mostly at three-quarter pace as he aims to be back near full speed around the time the Ashes begin in Perth on 21 November.
But it was not all good news as the 32-year-old concedes that he might not be able to play all of the remaining Tests even he does return.
I don’t really want to commit to anything this far out. I’m pretty keen to play as much as I can. But realistically, if we have a big game and bowl 40 or 50 overs and then there’s a game that starts a few days later, it might be a bridge too far.
I’m trying to get right, and if I get right then hopefully I’ll try to play most of it as I can.
Australia need 168 to win
A strong fightback from Australia as India lose six wickets for 47 runs in the last six overs to finish on 167-8. Shubman Gill (46) helped set up India for a much more ominous total, alongside early cameos from Abhishek Sharma (28), Shivam Dube (22) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (20). Axar Patels hammers a six and a boundary in the final over to lift India to a more defendable score.
Nathan Ellis (3-21) took wickets at critical moments to help turn the game, while Adam Zampa (3-45) recovered from an expensive start to help tie down the tourists. Australia will like their chances of chasing down a challenging target especially with Tim David in good touch and Glenn Maxwell back in the side.
WICKET! Arshdeep c Philippe b Stoinis 0 (India 164-8)
Josh Philippe hangs on to a high ball to send Arshdeep Singh on his way without scoring.
19th over: India 153-7 (Axar 8, Arshdeep 0) Nathan Ellis pulls out his bag of tricks – slower balls, yorkers, off-cutters and wobble seam. India lose a wicket and can only take four runs from the over as Ellis finishes with 3-21.
