Rohit’s ton flattens Australia, India regain No 1 spot in ODIs
BACK ON TOP Axar Patel’s triple strike helps India restrict visitors before sealing sevenwicket win to take series 41
NAGPUR: The ease with which India chased down the modest target of 243 set by Australia at the Vida rb ha Cricket Association stadium on Sunday summed up the dominant form Virat Kohli’s side is at the moment, despite the blip in the last game in Bangalore.
The Indian bowlers tightened the screws before the top-order did what they do best, led by R oh it Sharma’s racy 125 off 109 balls, to complete a 4-1 series vicgtory.
The manner of India’s victory in the final ODI demonstrated their gap from Australia. While Australia started well, wobbled in the middle and lost their way in the end to reach the below-par total, India’s innings started with caution before it hit the highway to victory.
BATTING BRILLIANCE
Australia skipper Steve Smith turned to seven bowlers to get him a wicket, bringing six of them within the first 12 overs. It indi- cated how he struggled to implement his plans. Rohit Sharma didn’t open his account till the 15 th ball he faced but made up for it with back-to-back boundaries.
Despite this being an inconsequential game, typical textbook shots in the cover region brought the jam-packed crowd to life. Ajinkya Rahane, Man-of-the-Series in the West Indies who got to play only one match in the Sri Lanka ODI series, struck his fourth half-century in a row, scoring a 74-ball 61.
He paced his innings well, picking up a couple of boundaries before letting opening partner R oh it S harm a take over. Having tried hard to push the total past the 250-mark, Australia put in a similar effort to pick wickets, but in vain.
CLASSIC ROHIT
R oh it S harm a’ s response dashed any hopes Australia had of pulling off a victory. While his classic cover drives treated the seamers with disdain, his sixes killed any hopes Steve Smith had of his spin- ners replicating the kind of effort Axar Patel (3/38) and Kedar Jadhav (1/48) put in.
Aj ink ya Rah a ne fell after scoring his fourth consecutive halfcentury, and by the time Rohit Sharma fell the writing was on the wall, with 20 runs to get from 10.5 overs. A tired shot while trying to finish things quickly ended his brilliant knock and skipper Virat Kohli too was caught.
Opting to bat, Australia had got off to a fine start with David Warner notching up his 17th halfcentury (53 – 62 b, 5x4). However, they lost wickets in heaps.
Axar Patel picked the wickets of David Warner, Peter Handscomb and Travis Head. He and Kedar Jadhav, who bowled 10 over son the trot, pushed Australia on the back foot.
The 4-1 series win push es India to No 1 in the ICC O DI rankings. It will give the hosts momentum for the three-match T 20 I series while Australia will have to dig deep to find inspiration.