Australian skipper Matthew Wade admitted that the last five or six overs were disappointing with the bat after their six-run loss against India at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Sunday in the fifth T20I. Australia needed 11 runs off the last eight balls but they could not get over despite a well-settled Matthew Wade at the crease.
Arshdeep Singh bowled a fantastic last over as he conceded only three runs and also accounted for Matthew Wade when 10 runs were required. Singh was able to nail his yorkers and got the job done for the home team. The visitors needed 57 runs in the last six overs with six wickets in the bank but they could not get over the line.
Earlier in the match, Shreyas Iyer scored a crucial knock of 53 runs off 37 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes to help India post 160 on the board. On the other hand, Ben McDermott scored 54 runs off 36 balls for Australia but got out at a crucial time.
The 17th over proved to be a game-changer as Mukesh Kumar accounted for Matthew Short and Ben Dwarshius on successive balls and tilted the game in India’s favor.
Matthew Wade said in the post-match presentation, “I thought we bowled relatively well. We kept them to a total that probably should have been chased at this ground. Disappointing last five or six overs (with the bat). There’s always a temptation to get a lefty against the two spinners. Projecting forward to the World Cup, my role is going to be down there with Tim David and Marcus Stoinis. Looking forward to the World Cup. My job is try and get us home in situations like tonight.”
He added, “Would have been nice to get the result tonight. 3-2 would have been probably a reflection of where the series was, we played some good cricket, got outplayed at times but we learn a lot. McDermott bounced back from his first game to the second game tonight. Guys like Jason Behrendorff, Dwarshuis, Sangha had a real impact in this series. You don’t get harder conditions than this.”
Australia did a fine job with the ball in restricting India to 160 but they could not come up with a collective batting performance, which led to their downfall.
