Australia vs India: 5 interesting ODI series that the two powerhouses played in the past

3. Australia beat India 3-2 in 5-match series in India in 2000-01

Australia came for their third bilateral ODI series in India in 2000-01 after a gap of 14 years and this time, they were the world champions with two crowns under their belt. Steve Waugh was leading the side while the visitors were led by Sourav Ganguly. The two teams had a nail-biting rivalry in a three-Test series before the ODIs and India eventually won it 2-1 to stop the Aussie juggernaut. The five-match ODI series started thereafter.

In the first match played in Bangalore on March 25, 2001, India won the toss and elected to bat. Rahul Dravid top-scored with 80 but it was a young Virender Sehwag whose 58 off 54 at No.6 and keeper Vijay Dahiya’s 51 off 39 that gave the home team the necessary push to go past 300. India were all out for 315 in 49.5 overs with three Australian bowlers (Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming and Ian Harvey) taking two wickets apiece.

Sehwag then produced magic with the ball by taking three wickets for 59 along with Javagal Srinath (3 for 49) to bowl out Australia for 265 in the 44th over. Zaheer Khan took two wickets. Opener Matthew Hayden fell for 99 while Michael Bevan made 49. Sehwag was the man of the match. The second game in Pune (March 28) saw Ganguly winning the toss and batting first yet again.

Hemang Badani hit 100 in 98 balls (his only international ton) and VVS Laxman made 51 in 86 balls but no other Indian batsmen could produce a decent score. McGrath, Fleming and Nathan Bracken took two wickets each and India finished at 248 for 9 in 50 overs. The visitors made no mess of their chase this time with openers Mark Waugh (133 not out off 138) and Hayden (57 off 81) giving them a solid platform for Bevan (33 not out) to give the final touches.

Australia drove home in the 46th over, losing only two wickets to level the series 1-1. Zaheer took the only wicket that fell and Mark Waugh was adjudged the man of the match. The third game in Indore on March 31 saw Australia winning the toss and sending the hosts to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar had a magnificent outing with the bat as he belted 139 runs in 125 balls and became the first batsman to complete 10,000 runs in the 50-over format.

He added 199 runs with Laxman (83 off 88) and India ended up at 299 for 8 in 50 overs with a slow finish. McGrath took three for 52 (he became the third Australian bowler to take 200 ODI wickets) and Fleming took two for 34. Australia were placed well at 102 for 1 but once Adam Gilchrist fell for 63 off 70, the visitors collapsed and were bowled out for 181 in the 36th over. Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh took three wickets each while Srinath claimed a couple. India had a big win by 118 runs with Tendulkar picked as the man of the match.

Waugh won the toss in the must-win game in Visakhapatnam played on April 3 and chose to bat first. A couple of hundreds from Hayden (111 off 113) and Ricky Ponting (101 off 109) saw the visitors posting a formidable total of 338 for 4 in 50 overs. Bevan’s 43 not out off 41 and some cameos from captain Waugh (35 off 24) and Shane Lee (25 not out off 11) did give little chance to the hapless Indian bowlers to make a comeback. Tendulkar led the chase with 62 off 38 but India’s middle order failed to fire.

The hosts were reduced to 169 for 8 but Zaheer (29 off 28) and Harbhajan Singh (46 off 34) added 59 runs for the ninth wicket to give the team’s total some respectability. India were all out for 245 in 45 overs to lose by 93 runs. Shane Warne and Steve Waugh took three wickets each while McGrath and Fleming took a couple apiece. Hayden was the man of the match as Australia squared the series 2-2. The decider was played in Marga on April 6. Ganguly won the toss and chose to bat first.

The captain eventually returned among runs with 74 off 83 while Laxman scored a ton (101 off 107) and the hosts finished at 265 for 6 in 50 overs. Ian Harvey took 2 for 49. Australia came up with a solid start with their openers putting up 70 in less than 11 overs. Gilchrist made 76 off 60 while Hayden scored 36 off 42. India managed to pull things back by taking the sixth Australian wicket on 202 in the 40th over and sensed a chance.

But Bevan stood like a rock to remain unbeaten on 87 in 113 balls and Harvey made a crucial 25 not out off 26 balls to take Australia home in 48 overs to bag the series 3-2 with a four-wicket victory. Srinath and Tendulkar took three wickets each. Bevan was picked the man of the match while Hayden finished as the man of the series.