Australia recorded their record run chase in ODI’s as they won the 4th ODI against India by 4 wickets to level the 5 match series 2-2. It was one heck of a run chase from Australia as they chased down 359 with utmost ease in the end. Peter Handscomb scored a brilliant century. However, the match-changing innings was played by Ashton Turner. He smashed 84 of just 43 deliveries to turn the match on its head. Earlier in the day, it was Shikhar Dhawan who propelled India to
It was Team India skipper Virat Kohli who won the toss and elected to bat. Both the opening batsman Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan needed runs behind their belt after not getting enough runs in the first three matches. The southpaw started of in a sensational manner and took the Australian bowlers with disdain. He struck 5 brilliant boundaries in the first 5 overs to get the ball rolling. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, took his time to get settled in the crease.
Dhawan needed to score big as he was under enormous pressure coming into this match. KL Rahul was also drafted nto the playing XI. The da which began with Rahul getting an opportunity ut Dhawan made full use of it and smashed a sensational knock of 143 runs. He was at complete ease and wiped out all the fears of his position in the squad for the 2019 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma pressed on the accelerator during the middle overs and caught up with Shikhar Dhawan. On 95 he tried to hit a six but mistimed it straight to Peter Handscomb. Following his dismissal, Dhawan completed a brilliant century and pressed on the 5th gear during his final 43. He was eventually dismissed by Pat Cummins with a good delivery.
The Australian bowlers came back well in the final few overs. However, India managed to get past the 350 mark and eventually finished on 350 in their allotted 50 overs. The home team needed to get off to a solid start to have any chance of chasing the target down. However, they lost Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh in the first few overs. Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah bowled brilliantly in the initial overs which set the Australian batsmen in the backfoot.
However, the visitors made a sensational comeback in the form of a brilliant partnership between Peter Handscomb and Usman Khawaja. Handscomb played a brilliant knock and smashed a sensational century to take Australia within touching distance of the target.It was a brilliant knock and Usman Khawaja also supported him pretty well.
Their wickets helped India claw their way back into the match. However, the match-winning was played by Ashton Turner. His knock of 84 came in just 43 deliveries which included 5 fours and a couple of sixes. He smashed the Indian bowlers all around the park. The dew factor didn’t help India as the bowlers didn’t manage to grab the ball perfectly. Eventually, Australia won the match by 4 wickets and with 13 balls to spare.
This is what losing skipper Virat Kohli said at the post-match presentation
The wicket remained good throughout the game. It was very difficult to bowl in the end, Asthon’s innings was the game-changer. Last game, we were told there would be dew and we were at the wrong end. They played better cricket, they deserved to win. We had to get the fifth bowler out of the way, so we wanted to get done with it first. It became too wet to bowl, it was very difficult to bowl in the right areas. Crucial, we were sloppy in the field and should’ve grabbed our chances. The opportunities slipped away and so was the game. It’s going to be cracker of a game, we’ve had two eye-openers in two games. We have to work hard and we got to come up with more intensity and passion in the next game.