‘I had only one goal that is to win trophies,’ says Abhishek on his impact-first approach

Carrara (Gold Coast), Nov 6 (IANS) Australia captain Mitchell Marsh admitted his side fell short against a “world-class” Indian team after a dramatic batting collapse saw them lose the fourth T20I by 48 runs at Carrara Oval on Thursday.

The defeat handed India an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with one game left to play in Brisbane on Saturday.

“Walking off, I thought around 167 was par on that wicket. The wicket provided a few challenges with the bat. In those situations, you just need a couple of partnerships, and we weren’t able to build that. So, fair play to India, they’re a world-class team, especially in these conditions,” Marsh said after the match.

Despite India posting what appeared to be a modest total of 167 for 8 on a two-paced pitch with variable bounce, their bowlers produced a commanding performance to turn the contest decisively in their favour.

Washington Sundar led the attack with remarkable figures of 3 for 3, while Axar Patel and Shivam Dube claimed two wickets each. All six bowlers used by India took at least one wicket as Australia, well placed at 67 for 1, were bowled out for 119 in 18.2 overs, losing their last nine wickets for just 52 runs.

Australia started brightly with Marsh and Matthew Short finding six boundaries between them, but the introduction of spin changed the tone of the chase. Axar struck first, trapping Short lbw after a failed sweep before returning to castle Josh Inglis. Marsh, who looked set on 35, was deceived by a slower ball from Dube and holed out to backward square leg, opening the floodgates for India.

“In an ideal world, you’d have your full-strength side every game, but some of the boys have a big series coming up. We also like giving guys opportunities leading into a World Cup. More opportunities, guys get in games like this with high pressure, I think it’s great,” Marsh added when asked about Australia’s rotation policy.

After Marsh’s dismissal, Australia’s middle order crumbled. Tim David miscued a pull shot off Dube to extra cover, while Josh Philippe fell to Arshdeep Singh, caught at short mid-wicket. Glenn Maxwell, who had struck a record-breaking hundred earlier in the series, was undone by a sharp googly from Varun Chakaravarthy that clipped the top of off stump.

From there, Sundar took control. He trapped Marcus Stoinis lbw and then completed a sharp return catch to dismiss Xavier Bartlett, reaching his 50th T20I wicket in the process. Jasprit Bumrah added to Australia’s misery by bowling Ben Dwarshuis for his 99th T20I scalp, before Sundar fittingly ended the game, having Adam Zampa hole out to long-on.

It was a complete bowling performance from India, who showed adaptability and composure on a tricky surface. For Marsh and his side, however, it was another frustrating evening where promise turned into collapse.

Australia will now head to Brisbane facing a must-win situation to finish the series on a positive note, while India will look to close out the series 3–1 with another all-round effort.

–IANS

hs/ab

New Chandigarh, June 7 (IANS) Batting great Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar after the youngster played a key role in putting India firmly in control of the one-off Test against Afghanistan at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.

Gavaskar was particularly impressed by Suthar’s all-round contribution, noting that the spinner had looked assured with both bat and ball.

“Manav Suthar has certainly made an impressive start to his Test career. What stood out was not just his bowling, but also the confidence he showed with the bat, particularly in the way he used his feet and looked comfortable at the crease,” Gavaskar told Jio Hotstar.

“With the ball, he was extremely accurate and consistently put the batters under pressure. There was some assistance available from the surface, which he utilised well, but the real test for any spinner comes on flatter pitches where greater variety and adaptability are required,” he added.

The former India captain, however, felt Suthar had shown enough promise to suggest he could develop into a strong option in the longer format.

“Having said that, this was a highly encouraging debut and he has shown the attributes to be a strong contender at the Test level going forward,” he noted.

Suthar struck crucial blows in Afghanistan’s innings, removing Abdul Malik, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Afsar Zazai, while maintaining excellent control and extracting assistance from the surface.

Gavaskar also praised fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who claimed 2-27 and accounted for Sediqullah Atal and Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.

“Prasidh Krishna showed excellent awareness and adaptability in the way he approached his spell. As a fast bowler, the natural instinct is often to operate on a shorter length and use bounce to trouble batters, but he recognised the conditions and adjusted accordingly,” Gavaskar said.

“By pitching the ball much fuller, he was able to generate movement back into the left-handers and create genuine wicket-taking opportunities. Both his wickets came as a result of that adjustment, one through a clean-bowled dismissal and the other via LBW.

“It was a good example of a bowler understanding the conditions, moving away from his natural tendencies, and executing a plan effectively,” he added.

Earlier, India were powered by centuries from captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul before Washington Sundar’s unbeaten 52 helped the hosts declare at 564/8, setting up a dominant position in the match.

–IANS

sds/

Hulencourt (Belgium), Jun 14 (IANS) India’s Avani Prashanth holds the lead heading into the final day of the Hulencourt Women’s Open, after carding a composed 68 (-3) on a moving day in Belgium.

The LET rookie secured four birdies on a much cooler day at Hulencourt, with her only blemish coming on the 18th hole. With 18 holes remaining, she will take a one-shot advantage into Sunday’s final round.

The other two Indians who made the cut were Diksha Dagar (72-73-70) at 1-under and T-32 and Tvesa Malik (76-70-71) at 1-over and T-42nd. The other Indians, Vani Kapoor (76-73), Sneha Singh (74-75), Amandeep Drall (74-76), and Hitaashee Bakshi (79-74), missed the cut.

Avani said, “The wind switched up today, so it was like a different golf course altogether”, said Prashanth. “I definitely had to play a little conservatively in some places, which I don’t like to do, but obviously I was forced to. I just stayed patient the whole time.”

The 18-year-old produced a superb birdie on the 14th, holing a great birdie putt from off the green.

“I misjudged that number a little bit, but I’m glad it turned out the way it did. The temperatures were down a little bit today, which I guess made it slightly easier. Yesterday, everyone was complaining about the heat, but I think golf was a little easier for everyone today. I preferred it a bit more yesterday because of how far the ball was going, but I’m definitely happy that it wasn’t as hot. I had to try really hard to focus all day yesterday, and by the 8th and 9th holes, I was so tired, so thankfully that didn’t happen today.”

Heading into Sunday, the teen said: “There will obviously be some nerves, but I just try and forget about it. I love playing under pressure and I love chasing, but thankfully I don’t have to do that now, so I’m just going to put my best foot forward tomorrow and see how it goes.”

France’s Nastasia Nadaud and Wales’ Darcey Harry sit in a tie for second place heading into tomorrow, with scorecards of nine-under-par.

Nadaud began the day four shots off the pace but closed the gap with a strong third round, finishing just one shot off the lead. “It was a very good day – I think I hit the ball very well and gave myself opportunities,” said the 20-year-old.

“Today was a bit better weather-wise. It was so hot yesterday, and the rain [during today’s round] felt refreshing, to be honest,” she added.

She knows what it’s like to play under pressure, having secured victory over Team Hall in a three-way playoff at the Aramco Team Series – London last year.

Germany’s Helen Briem – the overnight leader – sits in solo fourth place on eight-under-par after 54 holes. Briem carded two bogeys but was able to follow them up with two birdies, making it a solid par round for the day.

–IANS

bsk/