India v Australia, 5th ODI, 2017– 5 Talking Points

It was the last of the 5-match ODI series between India and Australia at Nagpur, with the visitors brimming with confidence to make the series 3-2 and salvaging some pride out of the series into the 3-match T20I series. Steve Smith’s luck with the toss continued as he won yet another toss in the series and elected to bat first.

Australia gave away the momentum yet again in the series and ended up with only 242 on the board. India in reply made a mockery of the total and chased down the requisite target by 7 wickets in hand and 43 balls to spare.  Rohit Sharma was elected as the man of the match while Hardik Pandya was adjudged as the man of the series. With this clinical win, India takes the 5-match series by a margin of 4-1. Here are the 5 talking points of the game:

1. Warner-Finch partnership

After winning the toss, Australians went off to yet another flying start, much like in the games at Indore and Bengaluru. David Warner carried on his form from the last game and brought up yet another half-century at the lightning speed.

He scored a 62-ball 53, smashing 5 boundaries in his knock. He was ably supported by the Finch at the other end who changed the entire dynamic of the Australian batting up front with his 36-ball 32. He hit six boundaries in his inning. The two laid a solid foundation for the Australians with their 66-run stand.

2. Yet another Australian collapse

Australia, for the nth time in the series, gave away the advantage by losing wickets in clumps. Starting from Chennai to Kolkata and then at Indore, Australians just can’t seem to find a way to strike the hammer when the iron is hot. Even in the Bengaluru ODI, Indians were put into the backfoot by the opening stand of Finch and Warner but lost three quick wickets which easily took away 20 runs from the total.

From 100-1 at one stage, Aussies lost Warner, Smith and Handscomb in quick succession to give the upper hand to the home side. After a brief partnership between Stoinis and Head, the Kangaroos ended with only 242 runs and lost 9 wickets in the process.

3. Axar Patel’s spell

Just when David Warner was beginning to flex his muscles after posting his half-century. Axar Patel, who has the knack of breaking partnerships and clinching crucial wickets, first picked up the wicket of a well-settled Warner and then removed Travis Head out of the equation just when the visitors were gearing up for the final onslaught.

In between, he picked up the wicket of Peter Handscomb who was looking to sweep and was caught plumb in front. Clearly, Axar Patel was the pick of the bowlers among the Indians as he clinched 3 wickets in his spell of 10 overs and gave away only 38 runs at a wonderful economy of 3.8.

4. Rahane’s rich form

Ajinkya Rahane, who is India’s third choice opener, came in and filled in his boots this series with impressive performances in all the matches of the series barring the first match at Chennai. He has amassed as many as 244 runs in the five innings he played at an average of 48.8.

With his innings of 61 off 74 balls, he picked up his fourth consecutive half-century in the series as he denied any chances of an Australian sniff into the Indian middle order up front.

5. Rohit Sharma’s majestic knock

Right from the first stroke, he hit straight towards the boundary, Rohit “The Hitman” Sharma looked all set for something special and taking the game away from the hapless Aussie bowling lineup. He first stitched a match-defining partnership with Ajinkya Rahane for 124 runs and then sealed the deal for his side with his partnership with Virat Kohli of 101.

Rohit Sharma slammed his 14th ODI ton with his majestic knock of 125 which came off just 109 deliveries, striking the ball at 114. Sharma thrashed 11 glorious boundaries with 5 lazily elegant maximums. India went on to win the match by a margin of 7 wickets powered by the innings from Rohit Sharma.