India vs Australia Highlights, 5th T20: Arshdeep Singh’s final over, Mukesh Kumar’s spell help IND win by 6 runs

Australia needs 17 runs from the last two overs. Just when we were lauding Avesh and his yorkers he delivered a poor over. He tried to bowl wide line yorkers to Wade delivered low full tosses and Wade started to hit them over extra cover. This game is right in the balance at the moment and India needs to pick Wade's wicket as if he stays till the end Australia will win it. 

Mukesh Kumar probably has bowled the match-deciding over. He picked up Short initially and the following ball he picked up Dwarshuis that's were it feels like its a touch too far for the visitors now. Wade is still batting and once again he is all by himself. It will be a tough challenge for him to pull this game from here on. 

Avesh Khan delivers a brilliant over. It has been one of those nights for him every time he tried a yorker he nailed it to perfection and he did the same this over as well. This is a very much a chasable total for Australia and the Indian bowlers need to be absolutely spot on with their yorkers every over if that is the plan they are going to use. 

Arshdeep Singh finally gets his man. He has been trying to nail the Yorkers once again in the last over however, it is not an easy job hence he started to slip in full tosses which started to travel. However, a low full toss outside the off-stump does the trick. McDermott who is a set batter tried to hit towards the cover region but didn't get the timing right and holes out by Rinku at long-off. 

Ravi Bishnoi is done for the day another decent outing for the leggie. Arshdeep Singh has been brought into attack for the second over and delivers a decent one as per his plans but Mcdermott carved on the off-side for a six which ideally should have been a catch if Rinku Singh at deep third man would have judged it better which ruined the over. As we update Tim David trying to play a swipe a ball from Axar gets the top edge and the ball loops for the fine-leg Avesh to take a simple catch. Just when it looked like Australia was making a comeback into the game another wicket fell. 

Suryakumar Yadav turns to pace after the drinks break. Mukesh has been brought into the attack and bowls brilliant over. He kept nailing his yorkers. This has been a feature of Surya's captaincy where he has been using the spinners early in the piece and letting seamers operate in the final overs. 

We have reached the first drinks break and might be tempting to say India is ahead but given the history of this ground it is still very much in the balance. Mind you if there is a drizzle every time the ball goes on to the out-field it gets greasy and difficult to grip for the bowlers. 

It will be interesting how Australia will go about this chase from here on. In the last game they missed the trick trying to take on the spinners and not having enough wickets left when the pacers came back in for second spells in the death and Wade was left to bat all by himself. Today if they can see out the spinners this ground is smaller than Raipur and target as well hence they can chase it down with the power they have. 

Ravi Bishnoi picks up another one. Hardie this time the batter had the idea right as Bishnoi is predominantly a bowler who bowls a lot of googlies which come into the right-hander hence he tried to hit the ball towards the long-on region however could not get the execution right. The Indian spin choke once again has started folks. 

Bishnoi does it again. He gets the big fish Travis Head. It is the Googly which does the trick this time. Head played a nothing shot trying to push the ball from the middle stump bat the ball moved slightly away and hit the top of the off-stump. Big wicket for India. The challenge for the Australian batters begins from here on facing the spinners. 

Mcdermott has come to the crease with some intent folks. He doesn't seem to be in the mood that he was in the last game where he tried to work the ball for singles and take the game deep but eventually failed. Today he is coming down the track regularly and trying to put the bowlers off-lenght. We might see Surya bringing in spin soon into the attack. 

Mukesh Kumar picks up Phillipe. The batter tried to play a short ball through the covers on the up, however, the length of the ball because of the nature of the surface gave it an awkward bounce which Phillipe had to play with an angled bat and got the inside edge onto the stumps. Kudos to Suryakumar Yadav for bringing in the bowling change here early in the piece. 

Avesh Khan has taken the ball from the other end he instead of pitching the ball and looking for a moment he nailed those yorkers in and not letting Head loose his arms. Brilliant one from Avesh. Since his comeback into the side, he seems to be a better bowler. He always had the knack of picking wickets but one thing which he lacked was keeping lid on runs but now looks like he has mastered that too.

Arshdeep Singh has taken the new ball and once again looked to pitch the ball up to the batter. Travis Head who is a master of smashing those fuller lengths when the ball is moving gets the boundaries and starts with a 13-run over. This is where India needs to be a careful defending this 161 runs as a good Powerplay here will push India out of it. 

Well, it has been knocks from Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel at the end that have brought India to 160 runs. It is not the total which would scare the Aussie batters but something Indian spinners could work with. The surface is two-paced and there will be help if the bowlers hit their mark. It won't be an easy chase for the Aussies stay tuned with us for the second innings. 

Beherendorff's slower one deceived Axar Patel as he tried to hoik the ball into the stands on the leg-side. That wicket has taken a significant chunk of runs from Indian total. 

Irrespective of how much India posts today they need to be wary of assault by Travis Head in the powerplay. Given this seems like a game there won't be too many runs that Australia will be chasing a good powerplay start might be all that is needed for Australia to run away with this game. Hence India needs to start tightly with the new ball. 

The death bowling of Australians has been poor throughout the series today they are in relatively in a better position than in previous games. However, Iyer is well set now and he is one of the most brutal strikers of the cricket ball in this lineup. Also there is a bit of drizzle in the air which makes the ball grip for the bowlers every time it runs onto on-field. 

India needs to assess what a good score from here and try to get that. The wicket is definitely not easy to bat and with the way the Australian middle-order played Indian spin, this will be the toughest of the pitches they would have batted on against them. If India can get over 160 runs today they will be in a decent position in this game. 

Axar Patel has time to bat now. He batted for Delhi Capitals on many occasions earlier this in year in the IPL and today he needs to play a similar role. Wade might bring an over of Short soon just to see if the batter takes the bait. Also, he still has an over Sangha up his sleeve. The rotation of bowlers from Wade has been brilliant today. He just knew whom to bring at which stage of the game. 

Shreyas Iyer and Jitesh Sharma are building a nice partnership here which is pulling India back into the game. If Australia can pick one more wicket then Axar will walk into the middle maybe then Wade might try an over of Short. As we update Hardie picks up Jitesh Sharma. The all-rounder bowls a slower ball bouncer which the batter tried to pull in front of square on the leg-side however, got the ball high on the bat for Short to take a simple catch. It is an interesting move by Wade to bring in Hardie into the attack and preserve Sangha's over. 

With the amount of turn on offer, Australia might have missed a trick by not playing Green today. With two right-handers in the middle, it would be a gamble for Wade to bring in Mathew Short who can bowl a bit of off-spin. However, the surface is gripping and Jitesh is just new into the crease it might be a worth gamble taking given the game situations. 

Tanveer Sangha has started the series poorly however, as each game went by he got better and better. He looks like a very similar bowler to Adam Zampa who bowls the ball short of length and tries to get the batters LBW and bowled instead of beating them in the air with flight and guile. Jitesh Sharma has walked into the middle and he needs to play a good hand here. 

Rinku Singh has been superb in this series and once again the situation is such that he needs to play a good hand here. Shreyas Iyer on the other hand has got himself in. Meanwhile, as we update Tanveer Sangha picks up Rinku Singh. The batter tried to hit the bowler towards the cow-corner region but could not get the timing nor did get the elevation ended up getting caught by David at long-on. India is in a lot of trouble at the moment and we are going to have drinks. 

Dwarshuis picks up the Indian skipper this time. Surya tried to cut the ball but could not keep it down and the point fielder took a sharp catch. Rinku Singh has walked into the middle the hosts here are in a pickle they need a partnership between Shreyas Iyer and the left-hander. The Australians have read the conditions well and the bowlers executing the deliveries to perfection at the moment. 

Powerplay is done and it must be said it has been one of the slower powerplays we have had in this series. Though the pitch is playing a fair few tricks the Australian bowlers have started well with the ball. Because of the cloudy conditions and rain there might be not much of dew today hence the wicket might remain same for the second innings for the Indian bowlers to exploit. 

Behrendorff makes a strong comeback after conceding a few boundaries. Jaiswal who already extracted six and four of the over got greedy and tried to make up for the sedate start and tried to pull a short one which seems like it was a bit too high for him. He got the top edge and the ball flew high in the air for the fine-leg fielder to take a lovely catch. As we update Dwarshuis picks up Ruturaj Gaikwad who tried to hit the ball over mid-off fielder but could not get the elevation right and gets caught by him. It seems like the two-paced nature of this surface is troubling the Indian batters at the moment. 

Wade decided to give Hardie another over in the Powerplay which is something new. The all-rounder seems to be in a good rhythm and is hitting hard lengths. However, Jaiswal who knew what is coming stayed on the back foot and smashed one into the stands in the leg-side. A bit of sedate start here for India so far. 

Behrendorff has taken the ball from the other end despite the drizzle there has been no swing on for him as well. However, the surface seems to be two-paced at this point in time. Generally the wicket here tends to settle down as the innings progress. Australia have decided to go with one spinner only time will tell if it was a good call. 

Aaron Hardie took the new ball for Australia. He did not get much a swing on offer but the surface because of the grass left on it has moved a bit. Ruturaj Gaikwad has played and missed a few. Behrendorff will be taking the new ball from the other end it will be interesting to see if he can get any swing. 

We are here for one final time in this series. Hopefully, we are going to have another cracker today. If the rain stays away we can see plenty of boundaries. However, a good to win for Wade and in theory have made the right choice now the onus is on the bowlers to deliver the goods. 

"Traditionally a very high scoring venue. One of the reasons is the lush green outfield. It is electric quick and it isn't the longest. Square boundaries - 66 metres and 65 metres, downtown is 76 metres. It's a very good track. On a fuller length, it's quite dry and it has got this kind of mosaic pattern to it, might turn a little bit. Through the middle - a little bit more grass, but the grass is in patches. Maybe a little inconsistent with both pace and bounce. Don't think there'll be dew factor involved with the overcast nature right now. India will probably want to bat first, put the middle order of Australia under pressure with a big scoreboard pressure because of the nature of the surface."

Travis Head, Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott, Aaron Hardie, Tim David, Matthew Short, Matthew Wade(w/c), Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha

We would have loved to bowl first. I told the team to not change anything, another opportunity to plan in front of an amazing crowd, so just go and enjoy. The way batting unit has delivered, just told them to believe and execute. Arshdeep comes in for Deepak Chahar. He (Deepak) has flown back home because of a medical emergency.

We will have a bowl. The wicket feels a bit tacky. One chage for us. Ellis comes in for Green. Exciting times for selectors and youngsters, to make a mark and put pressure on some of the spots.

If bowling has been a negative for both sides, the batting units have been firing on all cylinders. Given the nature of the pitch in Chinnaswamy and the dimensions of the ground, one can expect another run feast on Sunday.

Pakistan men’s cricket team’s chief selector Wahab Riaz cited examples of Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja working in official roles despite being involved in match-fixing.

“There is no pressure on me. I had made a decision and I am revoking it. In India, we have examples of Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja,” Riaz told reporters. (Read more)

Jitesh’s Ranji Trophy captain Faiz Fazal calls him a freak, while for Paradkar he is a free bird. But both of them agreed on the fact that Vidrabha’s khadoos brand of cricket failed to cage him.

“I will take you a little back. When he was playing junior cricket and whatever I saw off him, he used to score big runs. But I don’t know what happened to him. It was his technical flaws or you can question the mentality, he couldn’t make the impact for the senior team,” recalls Faiz.

The 30-year-old is one of the few finishers in the circuit. He has proven that in the IPL for Punjab Kings over the last couple of seasons. In IPL 2022, he scored 234 in 12 outings with a strike rate of 163.63. He made sure that he is not a one-season-wonder, scoring 309 runs at a strike rate of 156.06. All the runs have come while batting at No. 5 or lower.

The journey of Jitesh Sharma is one of a kind. For someone who never had a coach, who learnt cricket through YouTube and was in and out of the Vidarbha team because of his flamboyant batting, the wicketkeeper-batsman is finally reaping the rewards for his fearlessness.

On Friday evening in Raipur, when India were in a precarious position, the Vidarbha batsman not only forged a game-changing 56-run stand with Rinku Singh but also outscored the southpaw during the partnership. Jitesh scored a 19-ball 35 which included three sixes. It took him only four balls to hit the first six against Chris Green, where he shuffled across like Suryakumar Yadav and launched it over deep square leg. (Read more)

When India’s ODI squad for the three-match series against South Africa was announced on Thursday, there was a sense of certainty that one man would return to the squad: Yuzvendra Chahal.

A similar sense of inevitability would spring up when the team for the World Cup was being announced. Back then, it felt almost a given that Chahal would miss out. And he did. (Read more)

For a spinner, who mostly doesn’t bowl inside the first powerplay, Friday was an exception. With Deepak Chahar and Mukesh Kumar going for runs, Suryakumar Yadav turned to Bishnoi first and then eventually had to bring in Axar in the fifth over to check the run flow. “I always love putting Axar under pressure and the way he bowled was unbelievable. Everyone expressed themselves irrespective of the situation, and that’s what I told them: be fearless, play your game and we’ll see what happens,” Yadav said.

And despite Australia coming out all guns blazing, Axar was unfazed on Friday. With Travis Head, who was in full flow, looking to target him, Axar didn’t take the easy way out. He could have just sent in the darts, instead he was bold enough to toss it up, and was slower through the air. It ultimately brought the fall of Head, which opened the game for India. From there on, he adjusted his line and trajectory to good effect to remove Ben McDermott and Aaron Hardie and return with figures of 4-0-16-3.

"Just to continue to learn from the guys who are already established in the team and to have depth in the squad is really key as the T20 World Cup is round the corner."

Just a day after being dropped from the T20 side, Axar Patel sent out a strong message, walking away with a Man of the Match performance in India’s 20-run victory over Australia. More than the wickets, it was the manner in which he got them, that would have given Axar more reasons to smile.

With Australia prepared to play out Ravi Bishnoi, they were intent on taking on Axar. Coming into the game, there was a bit of pressure on him after he had conceded 22 runs in the 19th over he had bowled in the previous match, which ended up proving costly. And on Thursday, the selectors had dropped him for the experienced Ravindra Jadeja, which now makes him a doubtful contender for the T20 World Cup in June.

Rinku Singh said lifting heavy weights in the gym was the secrets behind his 100 metres long six in the fourth T20I against Australia in Raipur on Friday.

“Aapko pata hi hai aapke saath gym his karta hun (You know it, I train with you in the gym),” Rinku told Jitesh Sharma in a video posted by the BCCI.tv.

The ever-milling modern-day sport does not allow extended celebrations and India, in the immediate aftermath of their T20I series triumph, will have to hit game-mode and treat the fifth match against Australia on Sunday as a workshop to fit two key pieces in their grooves ahead of an exacting assignment.

Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar will have significant roles to play in the T20Is against South Africa, beginning on December 10. In that context, the Indian think-tank will be eager to see them firing in their last competitive outing before facing the Proteas at Durban.

The power hitter will relish the ground dimensions and the surface. Though he has shown glimpses of what he can do in bits and pieces in the series so far. The Indian fans could only witness his striking range in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians. However, the final game might be the stage set for David to show his brute strength along with playing a potential match-winning innings.

In his comeback game in Raipur, though he picked up a couple of wickets, he looked off-colour with the new ball which is very unusual for him. The Chennai Super Kings player is one of the best exponents of swing in the air and seam moment of the surface in the country in the first few overs. He will be hoping to hit his lines and lengths with more precision for the next game.

With the series already in the bag, it might be an ideal opportunity for the side to look at Sundar. The off-spinner, who was looked upon as a natural successor to R Ashwin at least in white ball format, has lost his shine a bit in the past year or so because of injuries. Though this may not be the game which will cement his place in the side, it might be the beginning of the resurrection of his Indian career. 

Josh Philippe, Travis Head, Ben McDermott, Aaron Hardie, Tim David, Matthew Short, Matthew Wade(w/c), Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Green, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

Hello and welcome to the final T20I between India and Australia. Though India has won the series what will be interesting to see is how the bench players perform today. Though it is a dead rubber from the series point of view there is plenty to play for the players to keep their spots in the sides and stay in contention for the 2024 T20 World in West Indies and the USA.