India vs Australia: Here's why Shikhar Dhawan didn't open the innings in Bangalore ODI

Australia, after opting to bat, managed to post a competitive total of 286 runs in 50 overs in the ongoing third and final ODI against India. Steve Smith slammed an impressive century to propel his team and the Indian batsmen will have to bat well to seal the series. However, the hosts were dealt with a severe blow even before the chase began as their in-form Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the action.

The southpaw got injured during the fifth over of Australia’s innings when he dived to stop the ball. While Dhawan’s efforts were not enough, he ended up hurting his shoulder in the process. The physio attended him quickly and took him off the field only to not come back. Later it was revealed that Shikhar Dhawan was sent for the scans to the hospital.

Moreover, the left-hander was seen wearing the arm sling support in the dressing room and will not be batting for India in the chase at all. This must have come as a serious blow for the Men in Blue as they are a batsman short now and the onus falls on the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to shepherd the innings.

Steve Smith treats the jam-packed Chinnaswamy with a special knock

After Shikhar Dhawan walked off the field, it was all about Steve Smith for Australia. He manoeuvred the ball right through the innings and stitched crucial partnerships first with Aaron Finch and Marnus Labuschagne and then with Alex Carey to keep his team in the game. The former Aussie skipper slammed his ninth ODI ton in the process and went on to score 131 runs off 132 balls with 14 fours and a six.

His effort and a half-century from Labuschagne (54) helped Australia post 286 runs on the board. Rather Smith got out with three overs still to go and that affected the visitors’ run-scoring. They couldn’t add much in the death overs. However, they are at advantage now with Shikhar Dhawan not to bat and would be looking to pick a few early wickets.