Australia vs India: 3rd ODI- Who Said What

Following the loss at the SCG, India made an incredible comeback to win the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval against Australia and drew level in the three-match series. The Men in Blue showed grit and determination and emerged triumphant in the third and final match at the renowned Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) by seven wickets. Moreover, India also won the maiden bilateral series on Australian soil.

Chahal weaves his magic

The decision to bowl first after winning the toss worked wonders for them as they bowled Australia out for 230 in 48.4 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar accounted for the wickets of Alex Carey and Aaron Finch inside the first powerplay. Thereafter, Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja buckled down and cobbled together a partnership of 73 runs from 85 balls after which Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed both of them.

Even as Marsh scored 39 runs, Khawaja got out for 34. It was Peter Handscomb, who came to the party and racked up 58 runs from 63 deliveries with two fours. However, he got minimum support from the others. Glenn Maxwell threatened with a breezy 26 from 19 balls, but he fell prey to fast bowler Mohammed Shami. Meanwhile, Chahal went on to pick up his maiden six-wicket haul in ODI cricket.

Dhoni and Jadhav hold nerve

Peter Siddle removed Rohit Sharma as India’s run-chase didn’t start off on a good note. Shikhar Dhawan was patient, but he fell prey to Marcus Stoinis after scoring 23 from 46 balls. The onus was thereafter on MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to steady the ship and they did it without much trouble. The duo added a valuable 54 runs for the third wicket. In the meantime, Maxwell dropped Dhoni on a duck.

Dhoni went on to score his third half-century in 74 balls. In the last five overs, India needed 44 runs and the experienced MSD stepped up to shepherd the team home. Kedar Jadhav brought up his fifty in 52 balls with Indian needing 14 runs in a couple of overs. At the other end, Dhoni didn’t give his wicket away and guided his team to a triumph, remaining not out on 87 from 114 balls with five boundaries.

MS Dhoni, the Player of the Series, said

It was a slow wicket, so it was difficult to hit whenever you wanted to. No point going after the bowlers who were bowling well, so we wanted to take it deep and that was the plan. Kedar did a great job in executing. I am happy to bat at any number. The important thing is where the team needs me. I can’t say I can’t bat at No. 6 after playing 14 years.

Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, said

It wasn’t a great wicket to bat on, so we had to take it deep, but they were professional in getting the job done. We were a bit nervous but two set batsmen in knew exactly what they wanted to do. We wanted to get in a good combination. We wanted to give Kuldeep a rest and we don’t want to be too predictable as well. Chahal came in and bowled beautifully. 6/42 was magnificent. Kedar with bat and ball is always handy. We have been here for a long time. It’s been an amazing tour for us. We drew the T20 series, won the Test and the ODI series. If someone gave me these results before the tour I would have taken it with both hands. I am really grateful and proud of the side. It was a collective effort. We are feeling confident and balanced as a side with the World Cup in mind. Few games against New Zealand and few more back home to strengthen the areas that we need to work on as a team.

Yuzvendra Chahal, the Player of the Match, said

I enjoyed bowling for the first time in Australia (internationals). The ball was spinning a little bit, so I planned to bowl slow and vary my pace. Looking forward to the New Zealand series.

Aaron Finch, the Australian captain, said

We took it down to the wire. When you give some great players a couple of chances, it always hurts. The way the boys attacked the defence there, gave it everything. Dropped a few chances but that happens. Our batting in the first couple of games was very good. Today maybe we got impatient, looking at something much higher than what the wicket allowed. Maybe we should have set our targets lower on those sort of pitches.

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