[Watch] Ravi Bishnoi has the last laugh after he castles Travis Head during IND vs AUS 5th T20I
Ravi Bishnoi provided a crucial breakthrough for India as he dismissed Australian opener Travis Head for 28 (18) during the fifth T20I in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 3.
With just 160 to defend, the Men in Blue needed to dismiss Head as early as possible. The southpaw once again got off to a quickfire start and captain Suryakumar Yadav had to bank on Bishnoi to get him a wicket.
Ravi Bishnoi erred on the fuller side and was smashed for a six over mid-wicket by Travis Head. However, the youngster held his nerve and dragged his length back just a touch on the very next delivery.
The ball turned just enough to beat the outside edge of Head's bat and clipped the off-stump. It was another example of how brilliant Bishnoi has been in the series in adapting under pressure.
Here's a video of the dismissal:
Ravi Bishnoi & Axar Patel will need to do the bulk of the damage
The score of 160 is not the type that's often defendable at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, there has been just enough grip available in the pitch for the spinners and that's where the Men in Blue will need to take their chance.
Bishnoi has already made a massive impact, picking up the big wickets of Travis Head and Aaron Hardie. Axar Patel has also started well at the other end, ensuring there is enough pressure on the Aussies.
While the required run rate is not a problem for the visitors, they are already three down at the time of writing and need a partnership to steady their ship. India, on the other hand, will know that they need to keep chipping away with wickets at regular intervals.
India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh.
Australia XI: Travis Head, Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott, Aaron Hardie, Tim David, Matthew Short, Matthew Wade (c & wk), Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha