Team India clinched the ongoing five-match series against Australia in style, thrashing the world champions by 5-wickets in the third One-Day International on Sunday (September 24) at Indore.
Comeback man Aaron Finch’s 124 and captain Steve Smith’s 63-run knock propelled the visitors to their highest total in the series- 293 for 6 in the allotted 50 overs. However, it did not turn out to be enough in the end as Indian openers Ajinkya Rahane (70), and Rohit Sharma (71) put on 139, and Hardik Pandya scored 78 to fire the hosts to a comprehensive win.
As a result of the victory, India has not only taken a 3-0 lead in the series but has also moved above South Africa in the ODI rankings.
With the fate of the series now decided, we are taking a look at five talking points from the third game.
5. Australia’s batting collapse biggest cause of their downfall:
For a change, Australia got off to a good start in the match. After Aaron Finch and David Warner added 70 runs for the first wicket, the former and Steve Smith laid the foundation for a big total by adding 154 runs. However, the collapse once again came back to haunt them as they were restricted to 293 despite being looking primed to cross the 300-run mark when Finch and Smith were batting.
4. Ajinkya Rahane presses his claim for a regular place in the playing eleven:
Rahane has pressed his claim for a regular starting place in the team by finishing the series in West Indies as the highest-scorer. The return of Rohit Sharma saw him losing his place, but he got the much-needed opportunity after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the series. Rahane did not begin the series on a good note but has now made his mark with two consecutive half-centuries. He scored a solid 55 on the Eden Gardens track before compiling a delightful 70 in the third ODI.
3. Wrist spinners are here to stay:
The pitch in Indore was a belter. Flat and hard, it was a nightmare for the spinners, and not surprisingly, Kuldeep Yadav ended up conceding 71 runs in his ten overs. However, the knack of wrist spinners to pick up wickets on any surface augurs well with this Indian team which has some specialist death bowlers in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. And it was very much on display in Indore.
Both the bowlers proved a bit costly but managed to pick up 3 three wickets before Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah choked the Australians in the death overs.
2. Aaron Finch is Australia’s best ODI batsman:
The hard-hitting opener once again showed that he is Australia’s most valuable player in the ODIs. After missing the first two games due to injury, he hit the ground running, scoring 124 off 125 balls with the help of 12 fours and five sixes.
1. Hardik Pandya is fast-becoming India’s crisis man:
Hardik Pandya is certainly making himself India’s go-to man. When Aaron Finch and David Warner were going great guns, he broke their partnership by castling the latter before starring with the bat, scoring a match-winning 78.