How many runs are truly enough? That’s a question that India will be looking to definitively answer in this fourth T20I against Australia in Raipur. If they had the best of conditions to pull off their highest T20I chase in Visakhapatnam, their highest-ever T20I total against Australia in Thiruvananthapuram gave them more than enough buffer. It was in Guwahati that even a total of 222 wasn’t enough, thanks to the dewy conditions in which Glenn Maxwell put India’s death bowlers to the sword and helped Australia get on the board in the series.
It’s been a series of flat pitches and high scores, so India won’t be too overly concerned about their death bowling. Ruturaj, speaking after the third T20I, thought as much and underlined how “even 13-14 runs an over” is attainable in these conditions and the best thing to do is “accept that and move on”. That said, Prasidh Krishna’s form would be in focus especially with only eight more T20Is to go before the World Cup next year. The tall pacer has returned figures of 1/50, 3/41 and 0/68 in this series, the latest being the worst-ever figures by an Indian in T20Is.
For Australia, this match would be as much about leveling the series as it’ll be about adjusting to yet another squad at their disposal. Sean Abbott, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith and Adam Zampa have all returned home after a victorious World Cup campaign, with Travis Head being the only exception. Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Green, Ben McDermott and Josh Philippe have replaced them in the squad and would be looking forward to some game time, not in the least because there’s an IPL Auction round the corner.
When: India v Australia, 4th T20I, 1 December 2023, 7:00 PM local
Where: Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur
What to expect: Raipur has only hosted one international game, which was an ODI between India and New Zealand earlier this year. On that occasion, the grassy pitch led to some tennis-ball bounce and lateral movement, with India’s fast bowlers exploiting the conditions to the utmost and reducing the opposition to 15/5 in a facile win. In terms of T20 matches, the last fixture here was a Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy match between Railways and Rajasthan back in 2018, so there’s not a lot out there in terms of what to expect. But this venue does have big boundaries, something that the spinners can still work with once the dew has set in.
Team News:
India
Shreyas Iyer, in the squad for the last two T20Is, is expected to slot right in. Mukesh Kumar has also rejoined the squad after missing the third T20I owing to personal reasons and should reclaim his place in the XI, coming most likely in place of Prasidh Krishna. That would mean Avesh Khan, who played the third T20I, keeps his place. Deepak Chahar, who has been added to the squad, is an option too.
Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
Australia
With Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis back home, it will be a fresh-looking middle order for Australia in this game. Chris Green is in line to make his debut for Australia. Kane Richardson was unable to complete his quota of overs in the last match, due to which Glenn Maxwell had to bowl the last over. It’s unclear whether Richardson is fit to play this game but in any case, Australia have enough replenishment in the squad to cover for him.
Probable XI: Travis Head, Matt Short, Aaron Hardie, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade(w/c), Tim David, Chris Green, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha
Did you know
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Ruturaj is currently leading the series run-charts with 181 runs despite a diamond duck in the first match
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Jason Behrendorff has conceded only 37 runs across his 8 overs in the series
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Three consecutive T20I scores of 200 or more is the joint most by India in the format alongside Nepal
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Guwahati was the fourth instance of two hundreds being recorded in a Men’s T20I.
What they said
“Even though we scored 230 [in Trivandrum], we felt the match would go till the last over. So with this kind of dew, these totals are bound to happen and bound to be chased” – Ruturaj Gaikwad after the Guwahati T20I
“The boys are in good spirits, hopefully we can pinch another one in the next game and take it down to the last game” – Matthew Wade is hopeful about the Raipur T20I
