Australia and India are gearing up to lock horns in the fifth and final T20I scheduled to be played at The Gabba on Saturday. India currently lead the series 2-1, after staging a remarkable turnaround with consecutive wins in the third and fourth matches. Meanwhile, the hosts, Australia, will be desperate to clinch victory in the final encounter to avoid a series defeat, with the top and middle order batters eyeing a greater comeback.
The first match had been called off due to rain, and Australia made a great start to the series, winning the second T20I and taking an early lead. However, India’s young guns and middle-order consistency have since tilted the balance in their favour with back-to-back wins that have left Australia under huge pressure.
India’s batting unit has been firing collectively, with every batter making effective contributions. In the fourth match, India outclassed Australia by 48 runs, delivering an all-round performance, excelling with both bat and ball to dominate the visitors. India posted a competitive total of 167/8 after being asked to bat.
There were solid contributions from the top order. Abhishek Sharma (28) and Shubman Gill (46) started well, while skipper Suryakumar Yadav (20) and all-rounder Shivam Dube (22) added valuable middle-order runs. In their chase, Australia collapsed for 119 in 18.2 overs, with India's Washington Sundar and Axar Patel leading the charge with the ball.
Head-to-head
Matches - 37
IND won - 22
AUS won - 12
No result - 3
India possible XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Australia possible XI: Josh Philippe, Matthew Short, Ben McDermott, Mitchell Marsh (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Owen