Twitter Reactions: India fail to chase 335 as Australia register first win after 8 games

After 50 overs it appeared like the Australian team managed 20 runs short of the par total as they ended with 335 on the board but as it turns out they had 21 runs more than they needed. On a Chinnaswamy wicket which bore a different look, not as flat as it has been over the years it wasn’t expected to be a high scoring affair but the opening stand Australia had made it possible. India would’ve fancied their chances but the wicket got slower and with some rain run scoring wasn’t easy and they fell short of the target.

Aussie skipper Steve Smith won the toss and asked India to bowl. Virat Kohli wasn’t really pleased to be bowling as the surface was best to bat on in the first innings under the sun. David Warner and Aaron Finch made the most of the opportunity as a rusty Indian opening attack made life easier for them. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami who were brought into the XI along with Axar Patel for this game struggled to find the right line and length.

Warner and Finch relished the opportunity and clobbered the bowlers all around the park. While the southpaw scored a magnificent hundred Finch fell just short of it. The duo gave Australia a 231-run opening, which is the highest partnership for any wicket at this venue. Though India got a few quick wickets the lower order for the first time in the series ensured that they capitalized onto it and got the total deep into the 300s.

India had an equally good start as Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma enjoyed playing their shots with the ball coming onto the bat nicely. But as the ball got older and softer shot making wasn’t as easy. Rahane got out soon after scoring his half century while Rohit looked good for a big knock. He had another mix-up with skipper Virat Kohli and the two ended up at the same end, he had to run back to the other end but was run out by a mile.

Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya and Manish Pandey batted well after that but couldn’t take the chase towards conclusion. In the end, they did have MS Dhoni at the crease but the ask was too tall and he had no partners to rely on, and attempting a big shot he deflected on onto this stumps and the Indian hopes returned back to the pavilion with that shot.

The Aussie duo of Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled exceptional last spells and didn’t give the Indians anything. With the last match to be played at Nagpur, the series stands 3-1.

Here is how Twitter reacted during the course of the game: