IND vs AUS 2017, 4th ODI: Three Turning Points that Ended India’s Winning Streak
Sep 29, 2017 at 1:21 PM
Team India suffered their first defeat in the ongoing series against Australia on Thursday (September 28) with the visitors inflicting a 21-run beating on the hosts and thus ended their nine-match winning streak.
Batting first, the world champions posted a mammoth 334 for five in the allotted 50-overs. David Warner and Aaron Finch starred with the bat, as they shared a record opening stand to set the platform for a big total before Travis Head and Peter Handscomb provided the finishing touches. India fought back spiritedly but losing wickets at crucial junctures did not give them the impetus for the chase as they got eventually restricted to 313 for eight.
So here we are taking a look at three possible reasons that were instrumental in snapping India’s winning streak:
3. Aaron Finch getting a reprieve:
Steve Smith’s decision to bat first was fully justified by Aaron Finch and David Warner, as the duo added 231 for the first wicket, going past the previous highest opening stand for Australia against India which was achieved by Geoff Marsh and David Boon when they added 212 runs in 1986.
However, India had a chance to end that partnership, when it was worth 137 runs and Finch, was batting on just 47. Finch stepped out for a big hit down the ground off Yuzvendra Chahal.
However, he was beaten by the ball, but MS Dhoni surprisingly failed to collect the ball and stump the Australia out. Finch went on to score 47 runs more which turned out to be very crucial in the end.
2. The Partnership between Travis Head and Peter Handscomb:
For the fourth game in a row, Australia was looking destined for another middle-order collapse after Warner, Finch and Steven Smith were out in the space of five runs, as Australia were reduced to 236 for three from 231 for no loss.
However, Travis Head and Peter Handscomb stitched together a decisive 63-run stand which ultimately guided the visitors to a match-winning total.
1. Rohit Sharma’s Run-Out:
India began their chase on a brilliant note with Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane sharing a century-plus stand for the second game in a row before the latter got dismissed when the score was 106.
However, Rahane’s dismissal did not affect Rohit’s momentum as he continued playing his shots and was looking primed for a big knock. The right-handed batsman had raced away to 65 off 55 with the help of one four and five sixes before a misunderstanding led to his run-out.
The dismissal changed the course of the game, as the visitors kept on taking wickets at crucial positions to register their first win of the series.