WATCH – ‘Captain’ SKY continues team tradition and hands over trophy to Rinku, Jitesh

Bangalore: The Indian team held their nerves to eventually pull out a victory from the jaws of defeat against Australia and seal the T20 series 3-2. Australia controlled most of the match but it was Arshdeep Singh who emerged as the hero of the final over for the hosts as they successfully defended 10 runs from the last over. What was also heartwarming to see was the fact that interim captain Suryakumar Yadav continued the team tradition, just like his predecessors MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, by handing over the silverware to young players Rinku Singh and Jitesh during the team photo Sharma.

That winning feeling

Captain Suryakumar Yadav collects the trophy as #TeamIndia win the T20I series 4⃣-1⃣ #INDvAUS | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/IuQsRihlAI

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 3, 2023

Captain Suryakumar Yadav continues the team tradition and hands over the trophy to Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma

It was Super Sunday for India as Arshdeep, who had conceded 37 runs in three overs, bounced back brilliantly to give away just three runs while claiming the wicket of Australian skipper Matthew Wade as India secured a dramatic win. Arshdeep was included in the squad in place of Deepak Chahar, who left Bengaluru due to a medical emergency.

Chasing a modest target of 181, Australia were in cruise mode at 128/5 in the 17th over. However, the Indians fought back brilliantly thanks to some brilliant bowling as they conceded just 38 runs for three wickets in the last five overs, restricting Australia to 154/8 in 20 overs. At the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, 160 is the lowest total defended by a team in T20I cricket.

India got off to a good start with the ball as they reduced the visitors to 55/3 in the seventh over, sending Josh Phillips (4), Travis Head (28) and Aaron Hardie (5) back cheaply.

Ben McDermott, who put up a lonely battle hitting a 36-ball 54 and hitting five maximums, added 47 runs for the fourth wicket with Tim David (17). But the Indian bowlers were not done yet and fought back bravely to cause a collapse.

Matthew Short (16) and skipper Matthew Wade (22) faced some resistance but ultimately fell short against the clinical Indian bowling.

For India, Mukesh Kumar claimed 3-32, while Ravi Bishnoi (2-29) and Arshdeep Singh (2-40) claimed a brace each.

Axar Patel, the hero of India’s victory in the fourth match, once again bowled brilliantly in the middle overs, tying the batters in knots as the left-arm spinner finished with 1-14 in his four overs.

Earlier, Shreyas Iyer hit a 37-ball 53 to help India post a modest 160/8 after Wade asked him to bat first.

While Shreyas Iyer hit five boundaries and two maximums, Jitesh Sharma hit a 16-ball 24 and Axar Patel blasted a 21-ball 31 studded with two fours and one six as India recovered from an early collapse to post a modest total.

Having already closed the series 3-1 in the fourth match in Raipur, India made a decent start of 33 before opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was sent back by Jason Behrendorff for 21 in the fourth over.

Fellow opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (10) was out in the next over, caught by Behrendorff off Ben Dwarshuis as India slumped to 33 for two after Australian captain Matthew Wade won the toss and elected to bowl first in the inconsistent contest.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav could score just five runs while Rinku Singh, a hero for India with the bat in the fourth match, failed for once and ran out for six runs, caught by Tim David off Tanveer Sangha.

Shreyas and Jitesh added 42 runs for the fifth wicket while he and Axar Patel added 46 runs for the sixth wicket partnership as India reached 143/6 in the 19th over.

Short scores: India 160/8 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 53, Axar Patel 31, Jitesh Sharma 24; Jason Behrendorff 2-38, Ben Dwarshuis 2-30) defeated Australia 154/8 in 20 overs (Ben McDermott 54, Travis Head 28; Mukesh Kumar 3-32, Ravi iBishnoi 2-29, Arshdeep Singh 2-40) with six runs.

(With input from the agency)