5 Talking Points - Australia v India 4th ODI

India were handed another embarrassing loss by Australia at the Manuka Oval, Canberra as they handed over the 4th ODI by 25 runs. India looked set for their first victory in the series as they were in a comfortable position to chase the mammoth target of 349 set by Australia. Centuries by Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli had set the best platform to finish the game but the middle order could not carry on the momentum. In the end, Australia had the last laugh as their bowlers fought back brilliantly to snatch victory out the jaws of defeat. Here are the 5 Talking Points of the Australia v India 4th ODI

1. Warner-Finch opening stand:

Aaron Finch and David Warner gave Australia a flying start. Both added 187 runs for the opening wicket and set the perfect platform for Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell to pile up 111 from the last 10 overs of the innings which took Australia to an imposing target of 348/8. The brilliant partnership was broken only in the 30th over. Warner, who returned to the setup after skipping the 2nd and 3rd ODI, missed out on celebrating the birth of his child with a century as he was dismissed for 93 by Ishant Sharma. However, Aaron Finch went on to score his 6th ODI century.

2. The Umpires:

Umpire John Ward wore a helmet while he walked out to officiate in the game today. It was for the first time in an international match that an umpire wore a helmet. Incidentally, the 53-year-old Ward was hit on the head while officiating in a Ranji Trophy match between Tamil Nadu and Punjab in Dindigul in December 2015. In the 17th over, English umpire Richard Kettleborough was struck by a hard straight drive on his shin by Aaron Finch. Ishant Sharma’s full delivery was powerfully hit back in the same direction by Finch. The ball got deflected by the bowler’s fingertip and hit Kettleborough. After being struck, the umpire took some time to compose and continued till the end of the over but later limped out from the field when drinks were called after the end of the 17th over. He was replaced by TV umpire Paul Wilson.

3. Dhawan hits his 9th ton, Kohli gets his 25th:

Shikhar Dhawan was performing badly and had drawn a lot of criticism for the drought of runs he was facing. The 3rd ODI saw some glimpses of his return to form and it was highly anticipated that Dhawan will put a strong show today. And, as expected the left-hander did not disappoint at all and played a scintillating knock of 126-run from just 113 balls. Dhawan batted well right from the start of the chase, forming an opening partnership of 65 runs with Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli also continued his great run and smashed his 25th ton. The Delhi duo almost threw Australia out of the game with their 212 runs partnership before the Australian bowlers fought back into the game.

4. John Hastings leads Aussie fight back:

India riding on the driver’s seat and were comfortably heading towards an easy victory. It seemed that India would finish the chase with quite a few wickets and overs in hand. However, the Australians once again showed their top notch fighting spirit. In the 38th over, John Hastings gave a brutal twin blow to India by taking the wickets of Dhawan and MS Dhoni in the same over. Mitchell March and Kane Richardson took advantage of the opportunity and ran through the lower middle-order to script a fantastic victory for their team.

5. Submissive middle order:

India was at 277/2 and needed just 72 runs off as many deliveries when Dhawan lost his wicket in the 38th over. Kohli also departed in the same over. India suffered another shock when the most trusted finisher, MS Dhoni was dismissed in the very next over for a duck. And, this was where the game turned upside down and the slump began. Indian batsmen lost their wickets one after another and India, from being at a match-winning position, lost the game by 25 runs in the end. This would have been a monumental chase but the middle order looked spineless and drastically collapsed to deny India a record-breaking win.

What did both the skippers say after the match? – I’ll take responsibility because that’s my job to finish: MS Dhoni