Australia registered a thrilling five-wicket victory over India in the third T20I in Guwahati on Tuesday (November 28) to stay alive in the five-match series.

Invited to bat first, the Men in Blue rode on opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden T20I century (123* off 57 balls) to rack up a mammoth 222/3 on the board.

Amid the carnage, Jason Behrendorff returned with stunning bowling figures for Australia, claiming one wicket by conceding 12 runs in his four overs.

In reply, Travis Head took on the Indian bowlers and added 47 runs for the opening wicket with Aaron Hardie in double quick time. Arshdeep Singh drew the first blood for India in the fifth over by dismissing Hardie on 16.

In the very next over, Avesh Khan got rid of the dangerous looking Head (35 off 18). Australia’s innings slumped further in the seventh over as Ravi Bishnoi removed Josh Inglis on 10 to reduce the visitors to 68/3.

Afterwards, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis stitched a 60-run stand. Akshar Patel broke the partnership by removing Stoinis on 17. Tim David bagged a golden duck while facing Bishnoi and the tourists slipped to 134/5 in the 14th over.

However, Maxwell held the one end firmly and completed his half-century off 28 balls. After the milestone, he went berserk and started dealing in boundaries. With 43 needed off 12 balls, skipper Matthew Wade also raised his game and smashed Akshar for 22 runs in the penultimate over.

In the final over, Prasidh Krishna was tasked to defend 21 runs but Maxwell was on a rampage as he slammed one six and four boundaries to take Australia over the finishing line on the last delivery.

In the process, Maxwell brought up his hundred in 47 balls and stayed unbeaten on 104 off 48 deliveries (8 fours and 8 sixes) whereas Wade finished with 28 not out off 16 balls.

For holding their nerves in a pressure chase, Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade received rich praise from the cricket fraternity on social media platform X.

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