Sealed and delivered: India complete formalities against Aussies

NAGPUR: For a match that had very little meaning as far as the hosts were concerned, the crowd turnout at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium was impressive. It’s been four years since the venue last hosted an ODI.

The last ODI here too was played between the two sides and it was a memorable day for both Indian cricket and the fans as they chased down a mammoth total of 350. On Sunday, it was more or less the same.

While the score on board was fairly low, Team India was confident and smooth as they sealed the match comfortably, ending the series 4-1.

People can talk all about Rohit Sharma’s inconsistency. But on his day, he is a delight to watch. India did not miss the opening pair of Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan who have been so successful in the limited-overs format.

Ajinkya Rahane, who started along with Rohit provided great support with so much grace as India registered a comfortable seven-wicket-win over the Aussies. But Sunday’s game was even more special for Rohit as he became the fastest Indian to score 2000 runs in ODIs at home.

His 109-ball 125 included 11 fours and five sixes. The kind of knock that can win you any match. But a close look at the way he reached the target reveals how effortless he was.

A combination of carefully crafted cover drives and front-foot pull shots gave the fans more than one reason to celebrate. India’s bench strength is a hot topic these days and Rohit stressed that a performance like this speaks for itself.

“It will be difficult for me to comment if this team has the best bench strength as I was not a part of the team 10 years ago. But this team definitely has it. Me and Ajinkya have played together in Mumbai and we understand each other and know each other’s game really well. We talk a lot too and we know when to take risks and when not to.

We have had 100-run partnerships in the last few matches and it is because of the communication. It’s important that you keep talking to your partner and make him comfortable. He has been batting really well in the past few matches and has shown maturity in handling the new ball,” Rohit said after the match.  

Australia had a rapid start with David Warner and Aaron Finch producing a 66-run opening stand. For a moment, it looked like Warner was ready for another high-scoring inning, similar to the one in Bengaluru as Australia cruised to 60 for no loss in 10 overs. But that was not the case.

Apart from that, the only fruitful partnership for the Aussies came when Marcus Stoinis and Travis Head steadied the ship with an 87-run fifth-wicket partnership.

But that too did not last long. Jasprit Bumrah who had a costly start made amends as he removed Stoinis and bowled a maiden in the 45th over, once again underlining his death-bowling abilities.

Australia

Warner c Pandey b Patel 53 

Finch c Bumrah b Pandya 32

Smith lbw b Jadhav 16 

Handscomb c Rahane b Patel 13

Head b Patel 42 

Stoinis lbw b Bumrah 46

Wade c Rahane b Bumrah 20

Faulkner run out (Pandya/Dhoni) 12

Cummins not out 2

Coulter-Nile b Bumrah 0.

Extras (b1, lb2, w3) 6.

Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 242.

Fall of wickets: 1-66, 2-100, 3-112, 4-118, 5-205, 6-210, 7-237, 8-242, 9-242. Bowling: Kumar 8-0-40-1, Bumrah 10-2-51-2, Pandya 2-0-14-1, Yadav 10-1-48-0, Jadhav 10-0-48-1 (w2), Patel 10-0-38-3 (w1)

India (target 243)

Rahane lbw b Coulter-Nile 61 

Sharma c Coulter-Nile b Zampa 125

Kohli c Stoinis b Zampa 39

Jadhav not out 5

Pandey not out 11 

Extras (lb1, w1) 2.

Total (3 wickets, 42.5 overs) 243.

Fall of wickets: 1-124, 2-223, 3-227. Bowling: Cummins 7-1-29-0, Coulter-Nile 9-0-42-1, Stoinis 4-0-20-0, Faulkner 5.5-0-37-0 (w1), Zampa 8-0-59-2, Head 6-0-38-0, Finch 3-0-17-0.

8

This is the eighth opening century stand for India in 2017, their most in a year. They have had seven such partnerships in two years — 2002 and 2007. 

1

For the first time in his career, Kedar Jadhav bowled his full quota of 10 overs. The maximum he had bowled previously was eight (vs New Zealand in Ranchi last year).