Australia vs India, 3rd ODI – 3 Captaincy blunders by Aaron Finch

India managed to avoid a series whitewash, beating Aaron Finch’s Australia in the third and final ODI by 13 runs at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. The victory also helped Virat Kohli and Co end their five-match losing streak in the 50-overs format. The win will also give India momentum before the T20Is.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, India hammered 302 runs from being in a tricky situation. During the run-chase, Finch and Glenn Maxwell notched half-centuries, but their efforts went in vain. The hosts would now want to focus on the T20Is after some dominating show in the one-dayers.

Here are the three blunders committed by Aaron Finch in the game–

Not using enough overs of Moises Henriques

In the second ODI when India were chasing the massive score of 390, Moises Henriques did an excellent job. At a stage when the required rate for the Men in Blue were climbing at an alarming rate, the pacer came and bowled seven overs, conceding a mere 34 runs at an economy of 4.85.

He also got the prized wicket of Shreyas Iyer. However, Finch used him only for a solitary over in Canberra. Henriques gave away seven runs with a couple of dots. It remains a massive surprise why didn’t come back for another spell since he is definitely not the worst with the ball in hand.

Allowing Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to run away in the last 10 overs

India managed to score 110 runs from their last 10 overs, taking their score over the 300-run mark. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja put on an unbeaten 150-run stand after the Australian spinners got the Indian batters in a stranglehold. Virat Kohli’s dismissal was a crucial one in the middle overs.

India, making a comeback didn’t look likely since, after Hardik and Jadeja, there weren’t any established batters. Nevertheless, some indifferent bowling from the hosts allowed the duo to press the accelerator. They were severe on Sean Abbott, who leaked as many as 84 runs in his 10 overs.

Captain throwing his wicket away at a critical stage

Chasing 303, Australia lost a couple of early wickets in the form of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. However, Aaron Finch stood his ground and notched a gutsy half-century. It was understood that the Aussie skipper had to carry on in order for the hosts to gain momentum.

To his dismay, against the run of play, Ravindra Jadeja got rid of him. Finch tried to take on the left-arm spinner, going downtown, but he couldn’t find the middle of the bat. Shikhar Dhawan, at long-on, took a simple catch. Finch perished after scoring 75 off 82 balls with seven fours and three sixes.