IND VS AUS - 1st ODI, Australia tour of India, 2019

Dhoni's love affair with Australia in the 50-over format continues. He's notched up four fifties in four matches this year and the Aussies don't seem to find a way to dismiss the 37-year-old. The biggest positive though for India has to be the way their middle order performed under pressure. Yes, Rayudu at No. 4 didn't fire, but I'm pretty sure Kohli & Co. will give him more chances in the upcoming matches. As Kohli said, the bowling was top-notch from the Indians and they are threatening to be a formidable attack going into the World Cup. Australia, on the other hand, have more than one issue to address. Finch's form has to be the biggest of them all. He's not able to buy a run against India. The hosts are 1-0 up in the 5-match series and the teams now move to Nagpur for the next duel. Can the visitors make a comeback? It certainly won't be an easy task for them. Now, it's time to bid goodbye. On behalf of Varun Dixit, Ramakrishnan MS, Kumar Abhisekh Das and Shashikant Singh, I am Abhinand Ragahvendran signing off. Take care.

Kedar Jadhav, Man of the Match: My bowling is all about reading batsmen's mind. I have two or three options with the angle. I tried to bowl stump-to-stump. Best part about my bowling is, I don't think like I'm a bowler, there's no extra responsibility. I enjoy my bowling. Recently in Australia, we pulled off a similar kind of a chase. I had that in the back of my mind. When you have Mahi bhai at the other end, you just have to listen to him. I just did that again today. I tried to learn a lot from him (MS). MS and Cheeku are the best chasers in the game, I feel. The intensity has to be there all the time. That's what we learn from the captain and that's what we tried to do. I would have tried to play more shots early had Dhoni bhai not been there. That's what he does, he tells you exactly. He reads your mind; plenty of times when you feel this ball can be hit for boundaries, he'll tell you 'I can see that but the team needs more solidity and you have to bat till the end'. Every time you think of the team, most of the times, you'll cross the line and end up on the winning side.

Kohli (2/2): Ten overs for less than 35 is brilliant on this pitch (On Jadeja). He set his fields, it was great to see. He was all geared up that 'I'm gonna finish the game, I just want an opportunity.' He looks in a great shape and that's good for the team. Kuldeep's been doing it for a while. The way Shami has come back into the white-ball set-up after his Test performances, have never seen him so lean before. He has lost 5-6 kgs. He's running in and bowling so well. The lines and length he's bowling; got Maxi on 40-odd out with a beautiful ball. He has wicket-taking ability and he's hungry for wickets. Heading into the WC, it's a great sign for team India. If he can stay hungry like this and look for wickets and he has the ability to back it up with Bumrah and Kuldeep, it's gonna be great to stand in the field and watch.

Virat Kohli, India captain (1/2): It was a difficult sort of a game. We did a good job with the ball. The wicket didn't offer as much as it did under the lights, which was surprising. You have experience with MS and flair with Kedar who is also experienced now. That p'ship was outstanding and it was more or less a complete performance. That set the platform. At 99/3, I was speaking to Ravi bhai, and I said this is good. These guys have to do it and they have to get us across the line. The way Kedar and MS took responsibility, it was great to see.

Aaron Finch, Australia captain: I think we were 20 or 30 runs short. Especially after we lost one wicket after 10 overs, we could have got few more runs. I thought our bowlers did an outstanding job, but they (India) were too good. Everyone's trying to score runs. It's not as if they are trying to get out. We certainly tried our best with the ball. I think our quicks looked most effective when they were banging it in, with that came few plays and misses. You have to continue taking wickets when you are playing against good teams.

Stats round-up courtesy Deepu Narayanan

MS Dhoni vs Aus in 2019:
51(96)
55*(54)
87*(114)
59*(72)

Most wins after 64 ODIs as captain:
51 R Ponting
50 C Lloyd
48* V KOHLI
47 V Richards
46 H Cronje

Third time in the last six months India have successfully chased down a 150+ target without any one from top three scoring 50-plus.
223 vs Ban, Dubai
231 vs Aus, MCG
237 vs Aus, Hyderabad

Harsha Bhogle: This is a very satisfying win for India because it was achieved without a defining performance from the top order.

Mohammed Shami: We have worked hard as a team. And we are getting the results. Hopefully, we will perform well in the future too. I have been through lot of ups and down in my life. Cricket has made my life and I want to give my best for my team. I speak to experienced cricketers whenever I need some advice. I was very heavy around 93 kgs after coming back from injury and I have worked hard to reduce my weight. Thanks to everyone who have pushed me to reduce my weight.

21:23 Local Time: A clinical and cool chase from India - thanks to the unbeaten 141-run stand between Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav. Australia's 236 was under-par, but the tourists didn't give up. NCN removed Dhawan in the second over of the innings. The captain/vice-captain duo then steadied the innings with a 76-run partnership. Zampa trapped Kohli with a quick googly, and within four overs Rohit joined his skipper playing a high risk stroke. When the local lad - Rayudu - was dismissed, India would have felt the pressure with the scoreboard reading 99/4. That's when Dhoni and Kedar joined hands. Yes, the bowling was tight and few balls misbehaved off the pitch. However, the duo batted sensibly. They took their time to get their eye in, and steadily started to up the ante once the asking rate went over 6. They ensured that the required rate never touched 7 by hitting boundaries at regular intervals. And, in the end, they took their team past the winning line with 10 balls to spare.

Stoinis to Dhoni, FOUR, India win by six wickets! With all the fielders inside the circle, Stoinis darts a fullish ball. Dhoni stays in the crease and wristily lifts it over wide mid-on. A boundary to finish the proceedings

One run to win!

Stoinis to Dhoni, FOUR, four! Back of a length delivery, Dhoni moves leg-side and cuts it superbly between cover-point and backward point

Marcus Stoinis [9.0-0-44-0] is back into the attack

Jerry: "Plenty of praises for Dhoni, but Jadhav is finishing the game in style. He should be applauded too."

Just 5 required now! Dhoni to finish it off with a six?

Coulter-Nile to Kedar Jadhav, SIX, Kedar Jadhav takes the aerial route and he's timed that beautifully. Fuller than a good length ball angled in on middle and leg, Jadhav stayed in his crease and lifted it nonchalantly over long-on. Just a mere chip and it had the wings to clear the ropes comfortably

Coulter-Nile to Kedar Jadhav, 2 runs, low full toss, Kedar Jadhav wrists it towards mid-on. Stoinis, the fielder, in an attempt to attack the ball fails to collect it cleanly. Two more to Kedar

BI0$

Coulter-Nile to Dhoni, 1 run, 117.8kph, lack of bounce on this shortish ball, Dhoni controls the pull to deep square leg