India’s spinners powered the visitors to a 48-run victory over Australia in the fourth Twenty20 International (T20I) at Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast, giving India a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, India posted 167-8, with Shubman Gill top-scoring at 46 and valuable contributions from Abhishek Sharma (28) and Shivam Dube (22).

The spotlight then shifted to India’s spin attack, as Washington Sundar starred with 3 wickets for 3 runs in just eight balls, supported by Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel, bundling Australia out for 119.

“I thought 167 was par on that wicket,” said Australian captain Mitchell Marsh. “Batting was hard – we had a few partnerships but couldn’t get the big one for momentum.”

Australia had started strongly, reaching 67-1 in the ninth over, but wickets tumbled at regular intervals, leaving them well short of the target.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav praised his bowlers:

“The combination suits us really well. Bowling a side out is exactly what we want from them.”

Earlier, Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill put on 56 runs in just 6.4 overs, with Sharma falling to Tim David after an earlier big six off Adam Zampa. Dube and Gill added momentum before Nathan Ellis bowled both Dube and Gill to halt India’s acceleration. Yadav was caught on the boundary for 20, and the rest of the batting folded to leave India at 167-8.

For Australia, Mitchell Marsh (30) and Matthew Short (25) started brightly but couldn’t withstand the sustained spin attack.

Series so far:

• 1st T20I – Abandoned (rain)
• 2nd T20I – Australia won by 4 wickets
• 3rd T20I – India won by 5 wickets
• 4th T20I – India won by 48 runs (Gold Coast)

The series now heads to Brisbane on Sunday, where India will aim to seal the series.