India won by 7 wkts
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Rohit Sharma
Batter
Bowler
India vs. Australia has always been about the bigger picture, hasn't it? From the content of the sledging, right through to the context of the series. In a World T20 year, there really was no room for this "meaningless" ODI series, and yet, they've conjured some riveting cricket out of thin air, as the cricketing fraternity basks in the collective euphoria of watching a deflated side bounce back after being pushed to the corner and emerge triumphant. On that note, as we try to hang around a little longer in our Bangalore office waiting for the metro to empty out, it's Rishi Roy bidding you a forlorn goodbye alongside Akshay Maanay, Ramki MS and Sreenivas. Now, do wish us luck as we hit the Bangalore streets to get home on the night of an Indian series win at the Chinnaswamy *Bracing for metro crowd*
Virat Kohli receives the series trophy from the presenters, and he calmly places it in front of the placard the Indian team has stood behind so often - one that reads Champions. It's all smiles for the Indian side as they send a raucous Bangalore crowd into delirium with a breathtaking win, awaiting their flight to New Zealand tomorrow. A different beast awaits them at the other end of the world. The ghost of 10th July 2019 will be back to haunt them...
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Virat Kohli (2/2) (About the Starc drive through cover) It's important to practice in the nets, but it's important to be clear mentally and press forward. I'm not worried about the short ball, and trust my technique to take over, press forward, helping me to hit balls that are not there to hit. I enjoyed that shot. If you're not positive, then your feet don't move towards the ball and you nick those, so it's important to be positive. You need to have a clear and uncluttered mind. Australia were even better than last time. There's Steve, David and Marnus. A quality bowling attack, and really intense in the field too. We lost the last three in the last series, and coming back and winning the last two games after losing the first one, is very satisfying. We just want to go upwards and onwards. Getting one back given that we lost the series at home last year is really satisfying.
Virat Kohli | Man of the Series | India captain (1/2): We're quite experienced, Rohit and I, and we were short of Shikhar's experience. We got a good start. We expect openers of the quality of Rohit and KL to give us starts like that. When KL got out it was a tricky situation. The ball was gripping and turning a bit, and this is where experience comes in. We spoke of stringing together a partnership and all Australia want are wickets and if we don't give them wickets we can chase 7-8 runs an over later on. We have that belief in our skill. Rohit played beautifully today, anchored the innings before I took over. It's how we have played in the last 4-5 years. It's important to make sure one guy continues to bat till the end and takes us over the line. More important was the comprehensive win.
Rohit Sharma | Man of the match: It was an important game, a decider, and we wanted to just enjoy ourselves. To keep that Australian batting line-up to less than 290 was impressive. Once KL got out, we knew we needed to stitch together a big partnership, and no better person than the captain himself to do that. It was important to get that partnership from the team's perspective. We had that talk in the middle - one of the two of us needs to continue, and we couldn't lose the momentum, especially after the 100-run stand. I was middling and seeing it well, so I said I wanted to play my shots, and take the risks. It came off today, but if we had lost wickets, things would be different. Australia always comes up with good bowling attacks. Their top three quick bowlers challenge you, they've got variety and skills. In the first two games I was trying something different and it didn't come off. Today I just wanted to be there till the end, around the 35th over, and I was trying to push the run-rate forward because I was seeing it really well, but it didn't come off because I miscued one.
Aaron Finch | Australia captain: The wicket started to spin quite a bit. The quicks started sliding on a little bit at the end. If we had 310ish, then our spinners could put some pressure in the middle. Again, we just keep losing one wicket too many at every stage of the game. Our momentum gets stalled, but it's a great learning curve to play against the best in the world in their conditions. Agar bowled great lines and length, and he's always on the stumps, so the batsman has to take risks of the good balls. You are bowling at world-class players, but I thought we'd pitch a few overs of part-time spin, but that wasn't to be.
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Shreyas Iyer: Obviously I have seen them bowling, but coming and playing against them is different. To be honest, as many matches I have played, they have been the best bowling attack. Performing against the best bowling attack gives you the satisfaction and confidence that you can go play anywhere. I had decided to stay till the end, take every blow as they decided to attack my body. I had my plans and executed it well. They were trying to get into my head and wanted me to go over the top, but I said to myself that I will communicate with Virat and he told me to get set. I know if I am set I can play the big shots. So, the nudging and knocking helped me get into the innings.
Ravi Shastri: The boys showed great character. The reason I say character is because after the thrashing in Mumbai, to have the belief that they can do it and do it two games in a row with one day travel is an outstanding achievement. Once they got off to a start, they (Rohit-Virat) realised they are up against a team that is always looking for wickets. So the way both batted with a lot of responsibility. The way Shreyas finished will do him a world of good. If sides are planning to take us apart in the last ten overs and then there could be a surprise. We have a lot of variety. The good old yorker. The game might be 130 years old, but that is still the best ball in one-day cricket. I don't care who the batsman is. If you execute properly, you are going to get him. The exposure the young players get playing against an opponent like this will stand them in good stead. The next time they play any opposition, the entire mindset will be different for them. Saini is rapid. If he gets it right, he will tickle a few. Really proud of the guys.
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Stats Corner:
Most runs as India captain across formats
11208 V Kohli (199 inngs)
11207 MS Dhoni (330)
8095 M Azharuddin (230)
7643 S Ganguly (217)
Most Player of the Series awards (ODI)
14 S Tendulkar
11 S Jayasuriya
8 S Pollock/ C Gayle/ V KOHLI
7 R Ponting/ Yuvraj
Last three India - Australia bilateral ODI series
2019, Australia: India lose 1st ODI, win series 2-1
2019, India: Australia lose 1st two ODIs, win series 3-2
2020, India: India lose 1st ODI, win series 2-1
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As for the run-chase, there was no slack from the Indians despite the early setback that was the injury to Shikhar Dhawan. After the early wicket of Rahul, the top two ODI batsmen in the world had to be separated, and even the fierce pace and hostility of the Australian attack failed to do so early on. It was only after Rohit's dismissal, that Australia saw an opening, but Kohli continued on his merry way until the chase was all but sealed. And last but certainly not the least, Shreyas Iyer's knock was pivotal to close out the chase - and that India did. They certainly did...
IND 2-0 AUS | 21:05 IST: Of ten-wicket run-chases and reality checks, it's been a journey that has lasted six days, but has seen a stark turnaround for the Indian team. The deflating loss at Mumbai had seen several write India off far too early in the series, and the hosts have re-asserted their dominance at home once more, avenging the come-from-behind win by Australia just ahead of the 2019 World Cup with a truncated version of the same less than a year later.
Hazlewood to Manish Pandey, FOUR, he's almost taken Hazlewood's head off in crunching this half-volley straight down the ground for four as India seal this series 2-1! That, after being 0-1 down, in the worst way possible.
Hazlewood to Manish Pandey, wide, attempted bouncer, doesn't bounce, and it's down the leg-side - 2 to win now