5th T20I: Iyer, bowlers star as India win thriller to clinch series 4-1 vs Australia

NEW DELHI: Shreyas Iyer notched up a half-century, while fast bowlers Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh collectively secured five wickets, propelling the home team to a gripping six-run victory over Australia in the fifth and final Twenty20 International at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
This win thwarted Australia’s hopes of securing a consolation win on Sunday.India won the series 4-1.
Australia, in pursuit of 160 runs in Bangalore, seemed poised for triumph with Ben McDermott’s impressive 54 runs. However, their chase faltered when the 28-year-old attempted to launch Arshdeep (2-40) for a six but ended up caught at long-off.
After McDermott’s dismissal, Kumar (3-32) swiftly claimed two wickets, plunging Australia to 129-7.
Arshdeep then delivered an exceptional final over, conceding only three runs and dismissing visiting captain Matthew Wade.

“I was thinking that I gave away too many runs (in the first three overs) and was hoping for another chance, and thanks to God, I defended it and also thanks to the staff that they believed in me,” Arshdeep said after the match.
“Surya (before bowling the final over) told me whatever happens, happens, and credit goes to the batters as well. We had a cushion of 15-20 runs and it was definitely more than par. According to the standards we have set as an Indian team, it was not near par (speaking about his performances in this series) but there are a lot of learnings to take and hoping to come back stronger,” he said.
India, batting first, relied on Iyer’s 53-run contribution to set a defendable total, with Axar Patel (31) also adding crucial runs.
Australia’s Jason Behrendorff and Ben Dwarshuis scalped two wickets each.
Axar Patel was adjudged Man of the Match, while young Ravi Bishnoi bagged the Player of the Series award.
India, having clinched the series 4-1, will head to South Africa for a comprehensive series featuring three T20Is, three one-day internationals, and two Tests.
Meanwhile, Australia will return home to face Pakistan in a three-Test series.
“Elated to see everyone chipping in and the way these guys stood up from game one, especially in the batting department is mesmerising to see. I could see the calmness in him (Arshdeep) when he was bowling the last over, kudos to the way he composed himself,” Shreyas Iyer, who scored 53 off 37 balls, said after the match.
“When I saw 3 wickets falling down, I started to calculate what would be the best score on this wicket and it wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on, and whenever we find ourselves in such a situation it is important to assess the conditions and bat accordingly, today was the right example of how we did it as a team. 160 was the right total, it’s a commendable total especially after losing 4 wickets at the top and bowlers did a good job in restricting them,” he said.