Pandya leads India to series win and No. 1 ranking
Aaron Finch's 124 ended in vain as Australia lost 5 for 77 in their last 14 overs and eventually the match by five wickets
Aaron Finch's 124 ended in vain as Australia lost 5 for 77 in their last 14 overs and eventually the match by five wickets
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Nikhil Kalro
9.18pm Not many ODI chases have been as clinical and as convincing as that this year. Chasing 294, India got a fine start via fifties from Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, and that was it really. Australia just did not have the depth or personnel to challenge India's strong batting thereon. India did stutter, but they now have nine wins on the bounce, consistency that has earned them the tag of the best team in the world in this format. Australia were well short, 350 may have been a par score but as soon as they struggled in the second half of their innings, India took the momentum and confidence of having to chase less into the second innings. No recovery from there. Australia have now lost another game on the road - they have now not won one game in their last 13 away from home.
Presentation time.
Steven Smith: "We set it up beautifully, the first 37-38 overs. Put in ourselves a good position. Indian bowlers executed well, we executed poorly. We needed 330 plus, Hardik was magnificent in end there. Finchy played magnificently, the wicket slowed up a little bit for both teams. The ball came on for the first 35 overs in both innings, but the slowed up, when it did for us, we weren't good enough."
Virat Kohli: "Steve mentioned the first 35 overs was good from their end, we knew when we get 2-3 wickets with their lower middle order, we could pull things back. It was a 330-340 wicket. Coming back from difficult situations has been a feature of this team. Wristspinners need to be backed, they won't always get grip from the wicket, but they possess the ability to get wickets. They were 35-40 runs short. I'm really, really satisfied with the win. He's (Pandya) a star, has the ability with the ball, bat and the field. We need a guy like that, we've been missing an explosive allrounder, great asset for Indian cricket, The idea behind his promotion was Ravi bhai, to attack the spinner. We might try few players now, but mindset remains the same. Journey stops only after the fifth game."
Hardik Pandya is the Man of the Match: "Feels pretty good, would like to finish the game next time. I don't need to be surprised, important to back myself, saw it as an opportunity. I wanted to target the left-arm spinner, when I got a few sixes, I knew I could take some time. I try to contribute everywhere I can, I want to get better."
"We want six" is the chant
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