India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, who is typically composed and unflappable on the field, was observed losing his temper during the fourth T20I against Australia at Carrara Oval in Queensland. Despite this momentary outburst, India secured a 48-run victory in the crucial match, equalizing the series intensity. The incident occurred on the final delivery of the 12th over during Australia’s pursuit of 168 runs. Shivam Dube had just dismissed Tim David and was applying pressure on the new batter, Marcus Stoinis, with two consecutive dot balls. However, the bowler made a mistake on the last ball, delivering a short ball well outside off stump. Stoinis capitalized on this error, slicing it for a boundary over backward point. As the ball raced to the boundary, a visibly frustrated Suryakumar was seen shouting at Dube, clearly displeased with the loss of pressure at such a critical juncture. Nevertheless, India quickly regrouped to dominate the rest of the match. Washington Sundar initiated a remarkable collapse, taking three wickets in the span of five balls, as Australia crumbled from a solid 91 for 4 in the 12th over to 119 all out in 18.2 overs. This marked the hosts’ second-lowest T20 total on home ground, surpassed only by their 111 against New Zealand in Sydney in 2022. The Indian spinners were instrumental in the victory, collectively claiming six wickets. Sundar concluded with impressive figures of 3 for 3 from just 1.2 overs, while Axar Patel contributed 2 for 20, and Varun Chakravarthy added 1 for 26.
Axar’s comprehensive performance secured him the Player of the Match accolade after his unbeaten 21 runs off 11 balls propelled India past the 150 mark earlier in the innings. “Batting at No. 7 allowed me to gauge the surface better,” Axar remarked. “The ball wasn’t coming onto the bat smoothly, and there was inconsistent bounce. I concentrated on bowling straight and making a significant contribution to the team.” Earlier in the match, Shubman Gill played a pivotal role in stabilizing the innings with a commendable 46 runs off 39 balls, leading India to a total of 167 for 8 after being asked to bat first. Adam Zampa emerged as Australia’s standout bowler, achieving figures of 3 for 45 in his four overs. This outcome provided India with a 2-1 advantage in the five-match series, with the concluding game set to take place on Saturday in Brisbane.
