India vs Australia Star Sports 3rd ODI 2013 - Report

The run-fest that is Australia’s current limited overs tour of India, got even more feisty as it saw 607 runs scored in almost 100 overs at Mohali. After India chased down 360 in Jaipur, it was Australia’s turn to produce a thrilling finish; and they did, chasing down India’s 303 with four wickets to spare, hence taking a 2-1 lead in the seven-match series.  (Also Read: India vs Australia Star Sports 3rd ODI 2013 - Stats Highlights)

It were the late-over fireworks by James Faulkner (64 not-out) and Adam Voges (76 not-out) that swung the match in the visitors’ favour from a near-impossible situation. From the Indian perspective, the match was lost when their bowling spearhead and senior-most bowler, Ishant Sharma, conceded 4, 6, 6, 2, 6, 6 – total 30 runs – in the 48^th over.

Having scored 300-plus in the first two matches, the Aussies walked out in the middle confidently to chase down India’s 303. The openers, Aaron Finch (38) and Phil Hughes (22) got off to a positive start, putting on 68 in 12.2 overs. Hughes ruined the rhythm with a loose shot off Vinay Kumar, which gave India their first breakthrough.

Ishant Sharma, who has been off-colour in the series so far, got Finch out lbw with a full delivery on middle and leg. After getting eight economical overs from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10-1-50-1) Dhoni brought in his part-time left-arm spinners, Yuvraj Singh and Ravindra Jadeja to put stranglehold on the Aussie scoreboard in the middle overs. The pressure claimed the wicket of Shane Watson – given lbw to Jadeja.

Off-spinner R Ashwin was given the ball in the 29^th over and he was swept away for a six by George Bailey (38) off the fifth ball. The skipper, along with Adam Voges, put up 83 from 17.1 overs before being run out by a brilliant direct hit from Shikhar Dhawan. Brad Haddin tried to up the tempo with a quickfire 24, smashing 18 runs off Virat in the 40^thover. He perished an over later trying to clobber a wayward short ball by Bhuvneshwar.

When all seemed lost for Australia, Faulkner joined Voges in the middle and changed the course of the game. He scored a whirlwind 64 not-out off 29 balls (two 4s and six 6s) to snatch the game from India’s firm grip. He smacked Ishant for 30 runs in the 48^th over as Voges held the other end. Australia romped home with four wickets and three balls to spare.

Earlier, India lost their openers early after being inserted into bat at the toss. Dhawan’s (8) was an interesting dismissal. The left-hander nicked a seaming back-of-a-length ball from McKay triggering an appeal from the Aussies. The umpire, Shamsuddin, who was unmoved early on, decided to lift his finger the moment he saw Dhawan walking. Rohit Sharma was bounced out by Shane Watson for 11.

Of the top three Indian batsmen, Virat Kohli (68) was the only man to carry forward the form from the last match. With two wickets gone, Virat played himself in, still scoring boundaries regularly with some gorgeous cricketing shots. Suresh Raina (11), Yuvraj Singh (0) and Ravindra Jadeja (2) were all done in by Mitchell Johnson’s short balls in quick succession as the Aussie speedster finished with impressive figures of 10-1-46-4.

While Johnson was wracking havoc around him, Virat went on solidly. Although the boundaries dried up, the singles kept flowing from his bat, in the company of skipper, Dhoni. When Bailey deployed the left-arm-spin of Xavier Doherty in the middle-overs, the duo worked hard between the wickets. En route their 72-run stand Virat notched up his 26^th ODI fifty, before giving his wicket to Glenn Maxwell when on 68 off 73 balls.

Ashwin joined Dhoni in the middle with India at 154 for 6 in the 32^nd over. Together they exploited Faulkner’s lack of pace to score three fours in the batting powerplay and score 36 runs. Ashwin’s impressive vigil ended at 28 (35 balls) when became Johnson’s fourth victim in the 43^rd over.

After that, it was the MS Dhoni show all along. The Indian skipper began the second part of his innings – the use of long handle part. He hit the first six of the Indian innings, a heave over midwicket off Doherty. He took a special liking to Watson, creaming him for 39 off 21 balls, with three fours and two sixes. Faulkner was taken for 53 off 34 including six boundaries and a couple of sixes – Dhoni brought up his ninth ODI century with one of those.

Bailey committed the cardinal sin of dropping Dhoni’s catch, on the first ball of the 48^th over; the batsman smashed three sixes and two fours after that, adding 37 more to India’s total. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 139 (121 balls) laced with 12 fours and 5 sixes.

Man of the Match: James Faulkner for his sensational 64 not-out off 29 balls.

Bailey: "That was some extraordinary hitting from Jimmy [Faulkner]. He is a strong boy and that was as good as I've seen, Adam Voges at the other end was brilliant and it was great to see us finish it off. We talked about having wickets in hand late as we have the hitters to do the job. Our bowling was fantastic and it's pleasing to bounce back after the other night, 300 is imposing but we were quietly confident coming off at the innings break."

Dhoni: "I think the last few overs were disappointing and it's a real area of concern, it seems to be getting worse. We should have executed our plans and finished the game off. We could have batted better, we kept losing wickets and we were fortunate to pass 300 runs in the end. We need a bit more contribution from the part time bowlers. I am looking forward to going back to my hometown, Ranchi for the next match."

source: bcci.tv