The Men in Blue could gather 49 runs in the powerplay in the fourth T20I.
After the series was levelled at 1-1, the fourth T20I at the Carrara Oval was all to play for. And both the teams certainly gave their best shot. However, it was the Men in Blue who walked away with a lead of 2-1 in the five-match series. After being asked to bat, the Indians had a steady start, unlike the usual where they fly off. Despite the steady start, skipper Suryakumar Yadav was all praises for Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma in the post-match presentation.
The Indians came out to bat with the same intent, but had to curb their instincts after the first couple of overs. They were able to get to the 49-run mark in the powerplay, which would be considered pretty average for the way the game has shaped up recently. Eventually, the Men in Blue got to 167/8, with vice-captain Shubman Gill scoring 46.
The Australians were pretty clear that they wanted to bowl first, in order to access how the pitch behaved. Adam Zampa, who was included into the side with three others bowled quite well to gain three wickets, along with Nathan Ellis who was the star performer for the team. Ellis scalped three wickets, giving away just 21 runs in the process and was by far the best Australian bowler on display.
Shubman Gill and his strike-rate in the shortest format has been doing the rounds all over the cricket fraternity, especially concerning the Indian fans. The fact that Yashasvi Jaiswal has been made to warm the bench for Gill to feature in the XI has not sat well with a few of the fans. However, with the management looking to fast-track Shubman Gill into the leadership group, the change was all but certain.
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After India’s victory in the 4th T20I, skipper Suryakumar Yadav spoke to Adam Gilchrist in the post-match presentation. The Indian captain was all praises for the opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. The former, who is usually the aggressor since ball one found it difficult to get going and was 13 off 13 deliveries at a stage.
However, Suryakumar revealed that the openers quickly accessed the conditions and judged that the pitch was not a 200-run one, and that 165-170 odd could be sufficient. Hence, the team altered their strategy to play in that fashion. The Indians managed just 49 runs in the powerplay, but made sure that they kept all the wickets intact.
“The way Abhishek [Sharma] and Shubman [Gill] started the powerplay, they realised that it was not a normal wicket where you could get 200-220. It was very smart batting by both of them, and everyone chipping in with some runs, it was a complete effort from the batters”, said Suryakumar Yadav.
Another thing to add would be that the wicket at Carrara Oval was a drop-in pitch. And that is the reason why it had something in it for the bowlers. Right from the first innings, the Australians used to slower deliveries to perfection especially with the large square boundaries.
Shubman Gill has been playing with a strike-rate of close to 140 in the shortest format. However, with the T20 World Cup setting in early next year, the Indian Test captain will have to be on the top of his game. He has proved how lethal he can be with the bat in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and hence there are no doubts about his capability.
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