Australia’s Glenn Maxwell pulls off last-ball heist to deny India victory in 3rd T20

The Indian men’s cricket team, stunned by a Glenn Maxwell onslaught, suffered a five-wicket loss against Australia in the third of the five-match T20 series at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.

Led by Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten 123 off 57 balls, India piled on 222/3 in their 20 overs after being asked to bat first. Australia were in a spot of bother midway into the second innings. However, Glenn Maxwell’s unbeaten 48-ball 104 and Matthew Wade’s 28 off 16 enabled Australia to pull off the massive run chase on the last ball of the innings. 

Australia still trail India 2-1 in the five-match T20 series. The Indian cricket team won the previous contest in Thiruvananthapuram by 44 runs and one before that in Visakhapatnam by two wickets.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (6 off 6), player of the match in the previous match, was sent back in the second over by Jason Behrendorff. Ishan Kishan followed Jaiswal soon and India were reduced to 24/2 inside three overs.

Behrendorff, who went for 12 runs and took one wicket from four overs, stood out for his economical spell.

India were 80/2 at the halfway stage and suffered a setback with the wicket of captain Suryakumar Yadav (39 off 29) in the 11th over. However, Tilak Varma came in next and hit two boundaries at the start of the innings to set the tempo for the remaining overs.

Ruturaj Gaikwad accelerated brilliantly after the Indian captain's dismissal. After a 22-ball 22 start, Gaikwad hit an impressive 101 off his next 35 deliveries. His innings comprised 13 boundaries and seven maximums, with three sixes coming off Glenn Maxwell's 30-run final over.

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 123 was the first time an Indian batter scored a century against Australia in the T20 internationals. Tilak Varma played the second fiddle in the 141-run unbeaten partnership by contributing 31 off 24. 

With 46 for no loss in the first four overs, Australian openers Aaron Hardie (16 off 12) and Travis Head (35 off 18) came out with a perfect response. Nonetheless, the dismissals of both openers and Josh Inglis (10 off 6) clipped the scoring rate for the Australians, who were 73/3 after seven overs.

While Glenn Maxwell did not take long to get into the act. Marcus Stoinis (17 off 21) struggled to find the gaps in the field and was dismissed in the 13th over. Tim David (0 off 1) was dismissed for a golden duck by Ravi Bishnoi in the next over.

Australia needed over 14 runs an over when Matthew Wade came into bat. However, Wade combined with Maxwell to stitch a power-packed 91-run partnership in 39 balls to see off the run chase on the final delivery. 

Maxwell’s unbeaten 104 included eight fours and as many maximums. Maxwell and Wade needed 43 runs from the final two overs. The pair hit Axar Patel for 22 in the penultimate over and then took Prasidh Krishna for 24 for another expensive over. Maxwell was declared the player of the match for his innings.

India vs Australia brief scores: India 222/3 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 123*, Suryakumar Yadav 39; Jason Behrendorff 1/12) lost to Australia 225/5 in 20 overs (Glenn Maxwell 104*, Travis Head 35; Ravi Bishnoi 2/32) by five wickets.