India beat Australia by seven wickets in the decider at Melbourne today to clinch the ODI series 2-1 after they won the test series by the same margin. This is the first ever bilateral ODI series win by India Down Under.
Chasing 231 runs for the match and the series Mahendra Singh Dhoni got his team gets that along with Kedar Jadhav. Dhoni made 87 and Jadhav 62 in an unbroken partnership of 121 runs after Virat Kohli’s out in the 30th over, the match was in balance. Kohli made 46 of 62 balls before he edged Richardson to the wicketkeeper.
Dhoni came in the 17th over after the fall of Dhawan’s wicket and guided the proceedings into his own zone first in association with skipper Kohli and then with Jadhav. He survived as many as three chances but drove his team home to mark the revival of his finishing skill that has been under doubt for some time. At Sydney, Dhoni disappointed his supporters by failing to be up to his reputation as a finisher. But he led India to wins in the subsequent chases that ultimately fetched him the Man of the Series, and he testified his captain’s faith in him.
Kohli said “They should let him figure out things on his own and what he needs to do. He is one of the most intelligent cricketers and he is not someone who is not aware about what needs to be done. As a team, we are totally in sync with what he is doing and we are all very happy for him,”
Got in to bat by Kohli, the host gave in to Yuzvendra Chahal’s trick. The leg-spinner clinched 6 wickets to restrict Flinch’s squad at 230 runs. Bhubaneswar made the early inroads into the Aussies’ by removing the two openers. Then Marsh and Khwaja showed some grit against the Indian attack but Chahal removed both in his first over and then Stoinis in his 4th over to cause severe damage on the prospect of the Aussie’s score. Maxwell, Richardson, and Handscomb did some recovery work for their team when Chahal was out of the attack, but he backed to attack in the 41 over and achieved another three-wicket haul in his second spell taking his tally to his career-best 6 wickets in ODI. This achievement happens to be his personal best and best by an Indian in Australia.
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