IND VS AUS - 5th ODI, Australia tour of India, 2019

A fantastic series to watch, as both sides look ahead to the World Cup and I, Rishi Roy, am humbled to have witnessed and covered such an exemplary game of cricket in the company of Akshay Maanay, Hari Sadanandan, Raju Peethala and Mukesh. This is it fellas. The last official ODI for India, before the World Cup as the Aussies look ahead to an ODI series in the UAE in a few days. We're calling it a day here at Cricbuzz, as the Indians put their feet up ahead of the glitzy IPL and the World Cup. So long!

The proud Aussies receive the trophy - an ODI trophy that has been long overdue. Their first one since the Newlands Saga, and one that echos Bradman's Invincbles in England several decades ago - coming back from 0-2 to win 3-2 against India in their home conditions, with their manic crowd spurring them on, it really is an unprecedented achievement. I know, I know - those were gruelling Tests, these are just pyjama ODIs. But the character, the never-say-die attitude ingrained in the DNA of the Australians has surfaced at exactly the right time - so much so that even the fact that India were 2-0 up works in favour of the Aussies. This 3-2 is more uplifting than 5-0. Why? Pressure. This is the kind of situation where numbers can lie. They really can.

Teams winning after being 0-2 down in an ODI series:
3-2 SA vs Pak, 2003
3-2 Ban vs Zim, 2005
4-2 Pak vs Ind, 2005
3-2 SA vs Eng, 2016
3-2 Aus vs Ind, 2019

- First series loss for India at home since losing 2-3 to South Africa in October 2015.

- First ODI series defeat for Virat Kohli at home. Also, the first instance of India losing three consecutive ODIs under Kohli's captaincy.

- First time India have been bowled out thrice in any series since the tri-series in Australia in 2012.

- The last time before the current streak India lost three consecutive home ODIs was way back in November 2009 - against Australia.

Aaron Finch | Australia captain: It's unbelievable. The resilience and the fight that we showed was incredible. We've had our backs against the wall for a while now, but I'm really proud of the group for coming back. It's important to have a balanced side. We need a good balance of attack and defence. You need good batsmanship on these wickets against these really talented guys like Kuldeep, Chahal and Jaddu. Like I said, people have written us off for quite a while now, but the team that we have can win us the series, and they can win us the World Cup. It's about believing in ourselves and sticking to our gameplan. It was a great series all round even though India beat us resoundingly in Nagpur.

Harsha Bhogle: It is a wonderful achievement by Australia to come back from 0-2 down to win a series. The two teams started from either end of the results spectrum, India on a high and Australia in the dumps, and Australia gained more from this series.

Usman Khawaja | MoM and MoS: It's a lot of fun scoring hundreds and even more fun winning games. Very good to come back from 0-2 down, and never easy to beat India at home. Very excited. I just played depending on the conditions. Our spinners, and our batters adapted really well and at the end of the day, it was a really good team performance. That good partnership in the third game, Finch batted beautifully, there have been tough wickets and high-scoring ones. The batters chipped in, the bowling group chipped in, and credit to all the support staff because the atmosphere was really great even after we lost the first two games. We had a lot of fun. Even when we lost the first two games, we had a good vibe in the dressing room.

Kohli 2/2: The guys will reflect on the series quite a bit. It's been a long season, and we can be proud of the cricket we have played over the last few months. Both teams played with equal intensity but the deserving side won in the end as I said before. We are more or less sorted with what we want to do. The guys just need to get their roles for the World Cup and expect them to stand up and deliver. Just one spot in the side that needs some discussion. The last three games were all about giving the fringe guys some chances, but that's not an excuse at all. You don't need any motivation for the World Cup. All the sides will enjoy the tournament. Full stadiums. We just want to relive the big moments and do well in the World Cup.

Virat Kohli | India captain. 1/2: Yeah we thought it was a gettable target. They got away from us a little bit at the end, and 15-20 more than we thought we were going to concede. One or two overs can make a whole lot of a difference, but if you look at the overall series Australia played with more passion, hunger and heart and they deserved to win. They were brave in pressure situations compared to our game, especially in the last 3 games, the way they handled the pressure, they really deserved to win. We didn't even consider the dew in this game, because we can't control that. We can't take any excuses out of this series, we have to do what's in front of us to the best of our abilities and have to live up to the potential we have as a side. It's good that we had such games as we should be good enough to bowl with a wet ball or bat on a slowish sluggish surface.

Presentations coming right up...

Justin Langer: All the credit to the players. We just make them prepare for the game but they have to go out there and perform in crunch situations. Incredibly proud of the boys. It is going to be tough to pick the World Cup squad. It has been an unbelievable tide since India arrived in Australia. I have never seen a player like Kohli. They showed character and great fighting spirit. India had the better of us in Australia and we were able to have the better of them here. I think Jhye Richardson and Pat Cummins are forming a great partnership, they can also contribute with the bat. Usman Khawaja also has been fantastic, having not played much of white-ball cricket, in the last 12 months. So credit to him.

Pat Cummins: Played a bit of ODI cricket before, but I felt I bowled well in the series in Australia and hopefully will continue this form through the World Cup. I would not want to be a selector, it's gonna be a tough job with few guys still to come in. The spinners bowled well and the quicks were incredible as well. The batters have stepped up today. Playing consistent cricket is the key and it's been a good series for us. The biggest challenge playing in India is to adapt to the conditions and it's my first series in India, proud of the boys.

In retrospect, perhaps Bumrah's 19-run over towards the end of Australia's innings really gave them the extra runs on the board that put the psychological scoreboard pressure on India. Nevertheless, India still have several questions to ponder in terms of their World Cup combination - the number 4, the balance, the middle-order. The Aussies have quite a few problems of their own, but they've certainly come out of this series feeling a lot better about themselves than they would have after the first two games.

The Aussies started their defence well, dismissing Dhawan early on, and getting Kohli quickly as well, against the run of play. That may have been a key moment in the game, given that perhaps the best chaser in the world was back in the hut. India continued to lose wickets at regular intervals, and Rohit Sharma, too, departed after a well-complied half-century. Zampa was the wrecker-in-chief, picking up Rohit and Jadeja in the same over. There was some hope for the hosts after Bhuvneshwar and Kedar Jadhav stitched together a 91-run partnership, but India lost the two settled batsmen in consecutive deliveries which sealed the match for Australia.

21:13 Local Time: Fabulous scenes here at the Kotla, the heart of a country where the Aussies have managed to ressurect themselves from the dead. 2017 was the last time they won an ODI series, over 2 years ago, and even the usually poker-faced Justin Langer looks delighted! The Aussies huddle up, because they've done something special here. And outstanding come-from-behind performance starting in Ranchi, and culminating in what I wish was a humdinger of a decider in the capital. I posed the question earlier today: Can the Aussies pull something special ahead of a World Cup again? The answer is a resounding YES. They've won in alien conditions, without several of their key players, after one of the darkest periods in the history of cricket in this country. Fabulous performance by the Aussies. Never count the defending champions out.

Stoinis to Kuldeep Yadav, out Bowled! There we go! Finds the blockhole, and uproots the middle-stump as Kuldeep tries slugging it away into the cow corner region. That's the end of it, and Australia, man-o-man, down 0-2, and they've come from behind to win 3-2. Fantastic scenes, and the Aussies are chuffed! Kuldeep Yadav b Stoinis 8(12) [4s-1]

Stoinis to Kuldeep Yadav, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Stoinis to Kuldeep Yadav, no run, short ball, at the body, Kuldeep Yadav is advancing but notices the length and is forced to duck! Bounces over his head...