Australia won the toss and decided to bat first on a hot day at the MA Chidambaram stadium. With openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head contributing 68 runs for the first wicket, Australia got off to a quick start. Then Pandya swiftly removed Marsh, Steve Smith, and Head in consecutive overs to assist India in regaining control from Australia.
How did the innings pan out?
After adding 40 runs for the fourth wicket, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne were both quickly removed by Kuldeep. Marcus Stoinis after playing a small cameo was then removed by Axar Patel, who then allowed Kuldeep to finish off Alex Carey.
Ashton Agar, who was playing his first game of the tour joined forces with Sean Abbot to stitch a valuable 42 run partnership before both then were removed
For the final wicket, Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa contributed 22 runs. Triple strikes from Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav enabled India to dismiss Australia for 269 in 49 overs. Mohammed Siraj took two crucial wickets as Axar also scalped a wicket during the first innings.
India’s 270-run chase against Australia in the third ODI was a tough one as they were in a precarious situation after a few overs.
Prior to Gill being trapped LBW for 37 and Rohit falling for 30, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli made some excellent strides. Although Kohli scored 54, Rahul was removed for a score of 32. Axar Patel was run out as a result of Steve Smith’s outstanding fielding, adding further salt to India’s wounds.
Jadeja and Pandya took India’s innings forward but failed to capitalise at the right time. They both lost their wickets at crucial junctures and the chase was too tough for the tailenders to chase down. Australia won the ODI series 2-1 and this is a massive achievement in the World Cup especially in the home country.
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