After trashing Sri Lanka 5-0, the Indian team continued their dominant performance in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia that completed yesterday at Nagpur. Virat Kohli led side trashed the World Champions 4-1 and also became the number 1 ranked ODI side.
There were lots of positives for team India who played well under pressure. Here we look at the top 5 positives for team India in the ODI series against Australia.
- Hardik Pandya contribution with both and ball
Hardik Pandya showed his value with both and ball in the ODI series. He played two crucial knocks in Chennai when team India was struggling at 87 for 5. In the first match, Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni put up a crucial partnership for the 6th wicket. The all-rounder scored 83 off 63 balls which changed the course of the game. In Indore also, he made 78 in Indore which helped Men in Blue win the match and also series. He was tried according to the situation of the game.
He also picked important wickets in the series dismissing Steve Smith and Travis Head at Chennai. He dismissed Captain Steve Smith at Kolkata and continued to be impressive. As a whole, Hardik Pandya scored 222 runs and took 6 wickets. For his contribution with both and ball, the all-rounder was named as the man of series.
- Young Indian spinners performing well
The senior spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were rested for ODI series. Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel did an excellent job. In the first three matches, Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal bowled with great control, taking 13 wickets. Defending 253 in 2nd ODI at Kolkata, Kuldeep Yadav took a hattrick while Yuzvendra Chahal also bowled to trouble the Australian batsmen. Kuldeep Yadav was smashed for 75 runs in the third ODI at Indore but picked important wickets of well-set batsmen of Aaron Finch and Steve Smith.
In the final ODI, Axar Patel also bowled well taking 3 for 38 and was named a man of the match. It was a brilliant performance by young Indian spinners to make a case in the ODI team.
- Great bowling by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were outstanding as a pair of 4 ODI matches they played in ODI Series against Australia. Both of them showed their class with the new ball and in death overs, they restricted the visitors of scoring big runs. Whenever Australia was looking to score big, Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled yorker’s which made the scoring tough for the Aussies.
In the second ODI at Kolkata, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2 early wickets which put pressure on the Australian batting lineup. At Indore, in the last 6 overs, both death overs specialist gave away just 38 runs which restricted Australia to just 293. In Nagpur also, both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Bumrah conceded 37 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. This shows both of them is one of the best death bowlers in ODI cricket at present moment.
- Solid opening partnership between Rahane and Rohit Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan missed the ODI series against Australia. It gave a chance to Rahane to open with Rohit Sharma. At Chennai and Kolkata, the opening partnership was not great adding just 11, 19. In the next ODI matches, both openers gave a brilliant start. Both Rohit Sharma and Rahane added 3-century partnerships which provided a solid foundation. Both of them put on 139 in 3rd ODI at Indore, 106 in the 4th ODI at Bengaluru and 124 in the 5th ODI at Nagpur.
Rohit Sharma scored 125 in the 5th ODI and was leading runs scorer with 296 runs in 5 matches. Rahane also contributed with 4 half-centuries in the series. With Shikhar Dhawan coming back into the ODI team, Rahane would become the third opener. Rohit Sharma scored 2 half centuries and 1 century. Rahane could not convert starts into big scores.
- Aggressive captaincy by Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli again showed his aggressive captaincy while setting his field and getting assistance from former Indian captain MS Dhoni. Whenever India was put under pressure, he would bring bowlers who take wickets and also control the run flow. In the 2nd ODI at Kolkata, Virat Kohli set aggressive fields to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. When the spinners came on, he brought slips in.
In the final ODI, Virat Kohli gave Kedar Jadhav ten successive overs. It was the amazing display of captaincy by team India. It shows that team India can dominate in ODI cricket under the aggressive captain.