Australia edge out India to clinch 2-1 series win

Australia snapped India’s winning streak in ODIs at home as Steve Smith’s side beat the Men in Blue by 21 runs in the third ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to clinch a 2-1 series victory. The visitors found multiple contributors with the bat to post a score of 269 before the spinners, Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, bowled Australia to victory and took them to the number one spot in the ICC ODI rankings.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head gave Australia another strong start in the powerplay. The pair carried on from where they left off in Vizag and went after India’s new-ball pairing of Mohammed Shami and Siraj. Axar Patel was also taken for 11 runs in his second over inside the powerplay, taking Australia to 52 in the first eight overs.

India managed to pull things back after the initial onslaught through Hardik Pandya, with the all-rounder picking up three quick wickets to diffuse Australia’s momentum. Pandya had Travis Head caught at deep point before nicking off Steve Smith for a duck an over later. Mitchell Marsh also perished against the vice-captain three runs short of a third consecutive half-century, with the opener inside edging one onto his stumps.

Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav applied the brakes through the middle to stifle the Australian batters, but the visitors continued to attack in search of a winning score. Warner, Labuschagne, and Alex Carey were all dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav despite getting starts, restricting Australia to 203 for seven. However, the tourists’ deep batting line-up and contributions from the tail powered them to a promising total, with the final four batters adding 63 runs between them to take Australia to 269.

The Indian openers also made full use of the fielding restrictions in the powerplay, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill adding 65 runs in the opening nine overs. The skipper, though, was caught pulling Sean Abbott in the deep to start the tenth over while Gill was undone by a full delivery from Adam Zampa soon after.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul stabilised the innings with another vital partnership to take India to 146 for two, but both batters perished while looking to take on the spinners down the ground. Rahul found Starc at long-on in the 28^th over, while Kohli chipped one to David Warner at long-off after making the only half-century of the match.

India stumbled further with Axar Patel involved in a needless run-out and Suryakumar Yadav falling for a third consecutive golden duck. Hardik Pandya kept the hopes alive for the hosts with his busy knock, but Zampa dismissed the all-rounder and Ravindra Jadeja in consecutive overs to end India’s chances and seal the victory for Australia.