Australia’s captain, Matthew Wade, has been left fuming at a late umpiring blunder as India secured a dramatic six-run victory in the fifth and final T20 clash in Bengaluru. All-rounder Aaron Hardie (one for 21) and spinner Tanveer Sangha (one for 26) had produced strong displays with the ball as Australia restricted India to 8-160 on Sunday night (Monday AEDT).
In reply, Ben McDermott (54 off 36 balls) provided the early fireworks before Australia fell in a hole, needing 32 runs off 17 balls and with only three wickets in hand.
Wade (22 off 15) changed the equation in the blink of an eye with three consecutive boundaries off the bowling of Avesh Khan.
Australia needed 10 runs off the final over – bowled by paceman Arshdeep Singh. It was from there that the wheels fell off completely for Australia – in some instances through no fault of their own.
Singh’s first delivery was a bouncer that clearly sailed over Wade’s head. Wade was left incredulous – and incensed – when no wide was called by the square-leg umpire, with the veteran gesturing angrily at the non-call.
The next ball was a yorker that Wade could only bunt for no run, and he holed out on the third delivery of the over when he was caught in the deep. A Jason Behrendorff single meant Australia needed nine runs off the final two balls.
But their victory hopes were ended when the stumps umpire couldn’t get out of the way in time when Nathan Ellis bludgeoned the fifth delivery straight back down the ground.
It meant instead of a registering a boundary, Australia could only scamper through for a single, their hopes over as they went on to finish at eight for 154. The result enabled India to wrap up a 4-1 series win.
“It’s hard to wrap my head around at the moment after not being able to get us home,” Wade said of the loss. “I thought we bowled relatively well. We kept them to a total that probably should have been chased at this ground. It’s pretty disappointing. It would have been nice to get the result tonight. I think 3-2 would have been a reflection of where the series was at.”
India slumped to four for 55 after 9.1 overs before handy knocks from Shreyas Iyer (53 off 37 balls) and Axar Patel (31 off 21) lifted the home side to a defendable total.
Australian paceman Ben Dwarshuis snared two for five from his first two overs, but he copped some punishment from that point on to finish with two for 30.
Australia’s run chase started off strongly, with Travis Head (28 off 18 balls) and McDermott in the thick of the action.
McDermott struck five sixes during his blistering knock – one of which he launched 98 metres and out of the stadium. But each time Australia looked like they had the game in their control, a clump of wickets would follow.
Mukesh Kumar snared the scalps of Matt Short (16) and Dwarshuis (0) in consecutive deliveries as Australia crumpled to seven for 129, and Wade was unable to lift the team over the line despite producing some clutch boundaries.
Axar Patel was the pick of India’s bowlers with one for 14 off four overs, but Singh was the hero after conceding just three runs from the final over.
