2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke made by India in the 4th T20I vs Australia ft. Shivam Dube

India took a commanding 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series against Australia on Thursday, November 6. The Men in Blue triumphed by 48 runs in the fourth encounter at the Carrara Oval in Queensland.

India experimented with a few interesting tactics during the contest. Some of them came off, while others were questionable given the match situation and the resources at the team's disposal. Nevertheless, it was an important victory for a team that hasn't been convincing in the series so far.

On that note, here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by India in the fourth T20I against Australia.

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#3 Mistake - Shivam Dube at No. 3 was always going to be an iffy call

Australia v India - T20 Series: Game 4 - Source: Getty

When Abhishek Sharma was dismissed in the seventh over, India sprung a surprise by sending in Shivam Dube at No. 3. The thinking behind the move was clear - they wanted the tall southpaw to take on Adam Zampa and potentially Glenn Maxwell and Matt Short as well.

However, it was always going to be an iffy call. Australia had 16 overs of pace in their ranks and had no real reason to bowl either Maxwell or Short to Dube. They were always going to attack him with pace from at least one end, and the duo of Ben Dwarshuis and Xavier Bartlett kept him in check before Nathan Ellis castled him.

Dube's promotion also meant that Tilak Varma, Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav batted outside their preferred positions, limiting their effectiveness.

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#2 Masterstroke - Washington Sundar's introduction worked well

Australia v India - T20 Series: Game 4 - Source: Getty

In the last three overs of the Australian innings, Suryakumar needed to get two overs from either Dube or Washington Sundar. The former, who had already picked up two wickets, would've been the natural choice. However, the Indian skipper made the inspired call to toss the ball to Sundar, even though a powerful right-hander in Marcus Stoinis was at the crease.

Stoinis is clearly more comfortable against the seamers and seemed put off by suddenly encountering Sundar. He pushed at a delivery before attempting a reverse sweep that saw him caught in front of the stumps. The Indian off-spinner went on to pick up three wickets in just eight balls, justifying Suryakumar's bold decision.

More importantly, the call was a good one because it brought Sundar - who wasn't asked to bowl in the previous game - into the action. India will need him to be exposed to challenging situations in the lead-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup.

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#1 Mistake - Suryakumar Yadav threw the ball to Dube against Mitchell Marsh and Tim David

Australia v India - T20 Series: Game 4 - Source: Getty

This is a move that worked, so calling it a mistake might seem harsh. But decisions need to be judged on merit and not on outcomes, so it's safe to say that this wasn't the right approach.

With Tim David and Mitchell Marsh at the crease, Suryakumar tossed the ball to Dube at a time when Varun Chakaravarthy had three overs left. The medium pacer forced Marsh to pull a slower one and be caught in the deep, while David was bounced out in the next over.

However, it could've gone horribly wrong, as it did in the previous T20I when Dube leaked runs. Both Marsh and David would usually take him apart, and sticking to spin was certainly the way to go.

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Edited by Sai Krishna