Axar Patel, Rinku Singh help India win against Australia in third T20I, clinches series with one match to spare

RAIPUR: A solid performance from the spinners Axar Patel (3-16) and Ravi Bishnoi (1-17) rattled Australian batters in the middle overs as India won the fourth T20I by 20 runs to claim the five-match bilateral series 3-1. This is India's 136th T20I victory, the most by any team in international cricket.

Despite vital contributions by Rinku Singh (46), Jitesh Sharma (35), and Yashasvi Jaiswal (37), India were restricted to 174/9 in 20 overs. India looked in trouble at a point as Australia reached 87/3 in the 12th over.

But spinners Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi claimed four wickets between them for just 33 runs in eight overs as India came back strongly to restrict Australia to 154/7 in 20 overs to seal the victory and series. This is also the first series victory as a captain for Suryakumar Yadav.

India has now taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series with a match to spare, claiming their fifth successive T20I series at home.

Travis Head scored a quickfire 31 while skipper Matthew Wade blasted an unbeaten 36 off 23 balls in a pitch the batters troubled to score as they like.

Earlier, a late knock by Rinku Singh, a 29-ball 46, and Jitesh Sharma, who hammered a 19-ball 35, helped India recover from a mid-innings collapse and scamper to 174/9 in 20 overs.

For Australia, Ben Dwarshuis picked 3 wickets for 40 while Jason Behrendorff (2-32) and Tanveer Sangha (2-30) claimed two wickets apiece.