A 5 wicket victory over Australia in Indore and India have bagged the 5-match ODI series 3-0 on Sunday. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane’s highest opening stand and another big knock from Hardik Pandya ensured India closed out the visitors with two more matches to go in the series.
Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat first and the Indian bowlers managed to restrict the visitors to a modest 293-6 on the best batting surface seen in the series. Team India knocked off the required runs in 47.5 overs also sealed their 5th consecutive win in ODIs at the Holkar Stadium in Indore and extended the team’s run to 9th consecutive win in all ODIs.
Openers Power The Win
David Warner and Aaron Finch had added 70 runs in the afternoon after their captain Steven Smith won the toss and opted to bat. But Rohit and Rahane nearly doubled their effort, stitching the first century opening stand of the series. The Mumbai pair began circumspectly – scoring only 8 runs off the first three overs of the run-chase. But there was no stopping them once Rahane broke the shackles with a brilliantly executed extra cover drive in the fourth over.
Rohit wasn’t to be left behind; in the fifth over, he deposited a short delivery from Pat Cummins into the stands at long-leg. The deluge had begun, and the visitors rapidly lost grip over the match. By the end of the first powerplay, India had raced to 68 for no loss – with Rahane and Rohit adding 60 runs between overs 4 and 10.
Rohit and Rahane kept ticking off milestones and extended their partnership to 139. Their association ended in the 22nd over when Rohit miscued a short delivery from Nathan Coulter-Nile and holed out to the man at deep midwicket. But that was not before Rohit had stormed his way to his fastest half-century in ODIs; the 30-year old needed only 42 balls to get to his 50 – one ball quicker than his previous quickest half-century.
When Rahane (70) was dismissed shortly after – beaten by Pat Cummins’ pace and trapped leg before wicket – it provided the first instance of two Indian openers being dismissed in the 70s in the same match.
Team India did not commit the mistake Australia did when they lost two set batsmen in quick succession and then lost the plot. Hardik Pandya, who walked out to bat at number four, began aggressively and in the company of captain Virat Kohli ensured the pressure was transferred back on the visitors. The third wicket pair added 56 runs in 11 overs, when Kohli hit Ashton Agar down the throat of long-off.
Pandya, who dominated the partnership with Kohli, then took control of proceedings and steered the team closer to the finish line. The 23-year old was particularly harsh on the left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, while milking the rest of the bowlers judiciously.
Pandya then stitched a 78-run partnership with Manish Pandey (who slipped down to number 6 on the day) before he failed to clear mid-on. Courtesy his 71-ball 78 – which included 5 boundaries and 4 sixes – Pandya climbed to the top of the run-scorers list in this series.
After 24 ODIs – which is how many Hardik Pandya has now played – his returns in ODIs compare very favourably to Kapil Dev, who is the benchmark Indian all-rounders are compared to.
Manish Pandey (36* from 31 balls) and MS Dhoni (3*) then completed the honours, with the former scoring the winning runs off Kane Richardson.
Australia Lose Way & Fall Short
The Australian team will rue that they messed up an opportunity to post a humongous total and put pressure on the home team. At the end of 37 overs, Australia had 221 runs on the board – with two well-set batsmen in the middle and several big-hitters awaiting their opportunity for a hit.
But – courtesy some reckless batting – Australia lost their way in the final 12 overs, and managed to score at less than run-a-ball, eventually finishing at 293-6, when at one stage they looked good to post a total around 330.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)