India took a lead of 2-1 over Australia in the five matches in the T 2 OI series on Thursday, November 6. The fourth match at the Carrara Oval in Queensland saw the Men in Blue win by 48 runs.
India experimented with a couple of new strategies during the competition. Some of them were working, whereas others had doubtful questions considering the situation of the match and the resources of the team. However, it was a major triumph to a club that has not been spectacular in the series so far.
On that topic, here are two mistakes and one masterstroke done by India in the fourth Twenty20 International against Australia.
3. Mistake – Shivam Dube at No. 3 was always going to be a risky call
When Abhishek Sharma got out early, India made a surprising move by sending Shivam Dube to bat at No. 3. The idea was clear — to use his power-hitting against the spinners like Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell. However, this plan didn’t quite make sense given the conditions and Australia’s bowling setup.
Australia had a strong pace attack and didn’t need to introduce spin so early. As expected, the fast bowlers targeted Dube with short deliveries, keeping him quiet. Nathan Ellis eventually bowled him out, ending the experiment quickly.
The move also disturbed the batting order, pushing Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Axar Patel down from their preferred positions. It affected the team’s rhythm, and the gamble with Dube at No. 3 did more harm than good.
2. Masterstroke – Washington Sundar’s timely introduction changed the game
In the closing stages of Australia’s innings, Suryakumar Yadav had to decide between bowling Shivam Dube or Washington Sundar. Surprisingly, he handed the ball to Sundar, even with a powerful hitter like Marcus Stoinis at the crease. The decision turned out to be a masterstroke.
Sundar trapped Stoinis lbw with a clever delivery and quickly picked up two more wickets in the same spell. His variations and calm approach completely derailed Australia’s momentum. It was a perfect example of using a bowler smartly in pressure moments.
This move also gave Sundar much-needed match practice under challenging conditions. With the 2026 T20 World Cup approaching, India will benefit from having him ready to handle such crucial situations.
1. Mistake – Giving the ball to Shivam Dube against Marsh and David
Shivam Dube managed to take two wickets, but the decision made by Suryakumar Yadav to bowl him to Mitchell Marsh and Tim David was a risky one. Both of these batters are shown to be power-hitters and handing over the medium pacer the ball at such a moment might have easily backfired.
Dube succeeded in rejecting Marsh to a slower ball and then took David out shortly afterwards but it was more of a chance than a tactic. And safer against such aggressive batters would have been Varun Chakaravarthy, who only had overs left.
While the move ended well for India, it was a gamble that could’ve gone wrong. With Marsh and David’s striking ability, sticking with spin would have been the more sensible approach in that phase of the game.
