Picture : BCCI/ Twitter
After winning the T20 series 2-0 , Australia showed great grit , determination and hunger to bounce back from 0- 2 to win the five match ODI series 3-2. They won the series decider in Delhi by 35 runs in front of packed crowd at Feroz Shah Kotla.
Electing to bat first after Aussie skipper Aaron Finch won the toss, Australia got off to great start. Finch and Khawaja put on 76 for the first wicket . Finch fell for ( 27), But Khawaja scored his second ODI ton of the series a superb 100. Peter Handscomb stroked a fine 52 .
Indian bowlers pulled things back in the idle as Australia which at one point was looking to set a target above 300 plus could manage 272 for 9 in their 50 overs.
Pat Cummins ( 15) , Jhye Richardson (29) scored some useful runs in the end which proved the key at the end . Ashton Turner ( 20), Marcus Stoinis ( 20) were the other scorers.
For India Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with 3/ 48 off 10 overs. Ravindra Jadeja 2/ 45 off 10 overs, Mohammed Shami 2/ 57 off 9 overs were the other wicket- takers.
India given the batting strength were expected to chase down the modest target. But it flopped again. Shikhar Dhawan’s inconsistency proved yet again. Falling for 12. Skipper Virat Kohli too did not fire. Out for 20. Rohit Sharma tried his best but fell for 56.
Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar scored 16 each. Kedar Jadhav scored ( 44) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar with some lusty hits scored ( 46). Ravindra jJdeja fell for ( 0) . India were bundled out for 237 in their 50 overs. Handing Australia the match and the series.
For the Aussies the wicket- takers were , Adam Zampa with figures 3/ 46 off 10 overs, Pat Cummins 2/38 ( 10 ), Jhye Richardson 2/ 47 (10 overs), Marcus Stoinis 2/ 31 ( 4 overs), Nathan Lyon 1/ 34 ( 10)
It was India’s first ODI series defeat at home since losing to South Africa in 2015 . And being the last series before the World Cup, skipper Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri have a lot to think about when they go to England.
