"Planned it very nicely" - Team India all-rounder reveals smart game plan after 48-run win in 4th AUS vs IND 2025 T20I   

Team India all-rounder Shivam Dube asserted that the visitors were confident of defending 167 in the fourth T20I against Australia because they knew that hitting boundaries was not an easy task for batters. Dube explained that India's bowlers forced Australian batters to hit on the bigger side of the ground, making it difficult for the hosts to hit boundaries at regular intervals.

India beat Australia by 48 runs at the Carrara Oval in Queensland on Thursday, November 6 in the fourth T20I of the five-match series. Sent into bat the by the Aussies, the Men in Blue were held to 167-8 in their 20 overs. However, India's bowlers combined brilliantly to clean up Australia for 119 in 18.2 overs.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Dube shed light on India's bowling game plan, which caught Australia's batters completely off guard. The Team India all-rounder said (as quoted by Rediff):

"167 on this ground is definitely a good score because the quality bowling we have, the spinners, the fast bowlers...I trust them and the whole team trust our bowlers. Definitely it's a T20 game and any of the batter can come and smack but on this ground where the side boundaries are big, we had planned it very nicely and we had confidence that we can stop them."

Elaborating on Team India's tactics in the field, the CSK star added:

"The plan was to bowl on the sides which have bigger boundaries because it is difficult to hit big, I think the boundaries were 80m plus. We knew it won't be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides."

Washington Sundar claimed 3-3 in 1.2 overs in Australia's chase, while Dube and Axar chipped in with two wickets each. Further, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy picked up one wicket each.

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"Morne also helped me a lot" - Dube credits coaches, captain after 4th AUS vs IND 2025 T20I

While Dube was a bit expensive, he claimed the big wickets of Mitchell Marsh and Tim David. The right-arm pacer credited head coach Gautam Gambhir, bowling coach Morne Morkel and T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav for backing his bowling skills. He stated:

"When I got the chance I knew that I had to bowl, especially Morne, Gauti bhai and Surya prepared a good plan for me. Morne also helped me a lot. He gave some small tips which made my bowling better."

Before picking up two key wickets, Dube also chipped in with the bat. Sent in at No. 3, ahead of skipper Suryakumar, he scored 22 off 18 balls, with the aid of one four and one six.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert