Iyer, Bowlers help India win

BENGALURU: Shreyas Iyer’s refined fifty combined well with fine death overs performance by inexperienced pace duo of Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar as India pipped Australia by six runs in a thrilling encounter to record a comprehensive 4-1 series win.

Iyer’s 53 off 37 balls was the force behind India’s 160 for 8 on a tacky pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Ben McDermott’s bellicose half-century (54, 36b, 5x6) nearly trumped Iyer’s effort, but the Aussies crumbled in the final lap to end up with 154 for eight.

Needing only 10 off last over, Arshdeep held his nerve and gave away only three runs, repeatedly hitting the ideal block-hole length with consummate ease. No praise is enough for Mukesh (3/32), who bowled a game-changing 17th over, where effected back-to-back dismissals and gave away only five runs when the target was a gettable 37 runs in 24 balls with five wickets in hand.

Axar Patel (1/14 in 4 overs) was once again brilliant with liberal help from a tacky track where he would value his 31 off 21 balls way more in terms of challenging conditions. Ravi Bishnoi (2/29 in 4 overs) was equally effective as 3/43 off 8 overs also was one of the big reasons for the victory.

Among Aussie batters, McDermott was only happy to exploit the opportunities presented to him, and the right-hander’s carve over square leg for a six off left-arm pacer Arshdeep was quite noteworthy during his innings.

McDermott, son of former Australian pacer Craig, realised 47 runs for the fourth wicket with Tim David, who made a run-a-ball 17 as he struggled to unfurl his big shots on a slow surface.

However, Arshdeep had the last laugh on the night as he had McDermott caught near mid-off by Rinku Singh. David was soon gobbled up by left-arm spinner and man-of-the-match Axar.

Opener Travis Head went off the blocks like a train making 28 off 18 balls that contained five fours and a six. However, Bishnoi had his measure with a delivery that hissed past his prodding bat off the pitch like a cobra, and he later added the wicket of Aaron Hardie to the final column.

Earlier, India fought through a well-tuned fifty by Iyer but the Australian bowlers exploited a tacky pitch to the hilt to restrict the host to a modest total.

From the outset, it was clear that the Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch was not the familiar shirtfront where batters can make merry.

But Iyer showed the way, mixing well-judged singles and twos with those occasional big hits to the fence.

His pick-up shot off left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis over mid-off for a six was really astonishing but other batsmen could not emulate him except Axar with whom he milked 46 valuable runs for the sixth wicket.

BRIEF SCORES: India 160/8 in 20 overs (S Iyer 53) bt Australia 154/8 in 20 overs (B McDermott 54, M Kumar 3/32)