GUWAHATI
\nGlenn Maxwell\u2019s blistering century trumped India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad\u2019s unbeaten 123 as Australia clinched a last-ball victory in a thrilling third T20 International to stay alive in the five-match series on Tuesday.
\nOn a high after back-to-back wins in Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram, India appeared keen to clinch the series in Guwahati as they racked up 222-3, their third successive 200-plus score of the series, riding Gaikwad\u2019s 57-ball blitz.
\nMaxwell, who bled 30 runs as a bowler in his only over of the match, had other ideas though. Three weeks after smashing an unbeaten 201 against Afghanistan in the 50-overs World Cup, the all-rounder hammered an unbeaten 104 off 48 balls to secure a five-wicket victory for Australia.
\nPut into bat, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan inside three overs but stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav (39) combined in a 57-run stand with Gaikwad to arrest the slide.
\nSuryakumar fell at the midway stage of the innings but India reached 100 in 12 overs before Gaikwad stepped on gas. The 26-year-old went run-a-ball for his first 21 runs before exploding with the bat.
\nGaikwad clobbered seven sixes and 13 fours in what is the second highest score by an India batter in a T20I, behind Shubman Gill\u2019s unbeaten 126 against New Zealand earlier this year.
\nHe forged a 141-run partnership off just 59 balls with Tilak Varma, who made 31 not out. Sixty seven of those runs came in the last three overs.
\nTravis Head (35) led Australia\u2019s spirited reply before their top order wilted and the tourists slumped to 134-5 in the 14th over.
\nMaxwell turned the match on its head with his astonishing shotmaking, hitting eight sixes and as many fours.
\nNeeding 21 runs off the last over from Prasidh Krishna, Australia captain Matthew Wade, who made 28 not out, took five runs from the first two balls getting Maxwell on strike. Maxwell hit the third ball for a six, and followed it with a hat-trick of fours to seal a thrilling victory.
\nIndia\u2019s slow over rate meant they could deploy only four fielders in the deep for the final over, which proved costly in the end. The teams move to Raipur for the fourth match on Friday, two days before the series concludes in Bengaluru.
\nSCOREBOARD
\nINDIA:
\nY. Jaiswal c Wade b Behrendorff 6
\nR. Gaikwad not out 123
\nI. Kishan c Stoinis b Richardson 0
\nS. Yadav c Wade b Hardie 39
\nT. Varma not out 31
\nEXTRAS (LB-4, NB-1, W-18) 23
\nTOTAL (for three wickets, 20 overs) 222
\nDID NOT BAT: R. Singh, A. Patel, R. Bishnoi, A. Singh, A. Khan, P. Krishna
\nFALL OF WICKETS: 1-14 (Jaiswal), 2-24 (Kishan), 3-81 (Yadav)
\nBOWLING: Richardson 3-0-34-1 (4w), Behrendorff 4-1-12-1 (1w), Ellis 4-0-36-0 (2w), Sangha 4-0-42-0 (1w), Hardie 4-0-64-1 (4w), Maxwell 1-0-30-0 (1w, 1nb)
\nAUSTRALIA:
\nT. Head c Bishnoi b A. Khan 35
\nA. Hardie c Kishan b A. Singh 16
\nJ. Inglis b Bishnoi 10
\nG. Maxwell not out 104
\nM. Stoinis c Yadav b Patel 17
\nT. David c Yadav b Bishnoi 0
\nM. Wade not out 28
\nEXTRAS (B-4, LB-3, NB-2, W-6) 15
\nTOTAL (for five wickets, 20 overs) 225
\nDID NOT BAT: N. Ellis, J. Behrendorff, T. Sangha, K. Richardson
\nFALL OF WICKETS: 1-47 (Hardie), 2-66 (Head), 3-68 (Inglis), 4-128 (Stoinis), 5-134 (David)
\nBOWLING: A. Singh 4-0-44-1, Krishna 4-0-68-0 (1w, 1nb), Bishnoi 4-0-32-2 (3w), A. Khan 4-0-37-1 (2w), Patel 4-0-37-1 (1nb)
\nRESULT: Australia won by five wickets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GUWAHATI Glenn Maxwell\u2019s blistering century trumped India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad\u2019s unbeaten 123 as Australia clinched a last-ball victory in a thrilling third T20 International to stay alive in the five-match series on Tuesday. On a high after back-to-back wins in Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram, India appeared keen to clinch the series in Guwahati as they racked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-371254","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n