Coming off the back of a test series defeat and first game loss, Australia turned the tides and secured victory over India on their home soil in the latest ODI series.
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Fresh off a test series defeat, Australia turned the tides with a masterclass performance to pull off a two-one series win against India in the One Day International series.
The win puts Australia back at the top of the ODI ranking’s.
West Aussie, Mitch Marsh, was named Player of the Series due to his impressive batting performances. Adam Zampa scored the title of Player of the Match for the third ODI after getting a four-wicket haul against the hosts.
Mitchell Starc recorded a six wicket haul in the final game. Indian superstar Virat Kohli desperately tried to keep India alive with his impressive display of 54 runs from 72 balls, but was caught by David Warner off of Ashton Agar’s bowling in the 35th over.
Australia walked away from the final game with a 21-run victory over India.
However, it was a slow start for the tourists in the series after suffering a five wicket defeat in the first ODI. The performance echoed their earlier efforts during the test series against India and sent alarm bells ringing for many supporters.
India dominated the first game, with Ravindra Jadeja getting man of the match for his bowling figures of 2/46 from nine overs and his knock of 45 not out from 69 balls. KL Rahul’s batting figures of 75 not out from 91 balls also made short work of the 188 run chase.
However, Australia turned it around in the second ODI to deliver a 10 wicket thrashing of the hosts. Australia had India all out for 117, which the tourists then chased down in 11 overs to win the game with a score of 121/0.
Marsh put the fireworks on in the run chase, hitting six fours and sixes to finish with 66 not out off 36 balls. His partnership with Travis Head (51 not out from 31 balls) showed batting dominance in the top order.
Starc’s five-wicket haul made short work of the hosts and got him man of the match. Starc restricted the Indian batsmen, with Kohli being the highest run scorer, mustering 31 from 35 balls.
Australian batsman David Warner was out for most of the series with a corked quad and made little impact with the bat on his return in the third ODI. Interim test captain Steve Smith also scored little runs, along with Marnus Labuschagne.
The performances of Marsh and Zampa will be sure to leave the Australian test selectors with headaches for the upcoming tour of England for the Ashes series. But for now, the Australian cricket team will be celebrating a dominant performance on Indian soil.
The series victory sees Australia end India’s seven game ODI series winning streak on home soil.