India defeated Australia by 5 wickets in the third One-day international at Holkar Stadium, Indore just a few minutes ago. Steve Smith elected to bat, Aaron Finch, David Warner and Steve Smith played well but rest of batting order failed as the visitors were able to score 293 for 6. The Indian team chased down the target with half-centuries from Rohit, Rahane and Pandya. India won the match by 5 wickets.
Australian captain Steve Smith won the toss for the first time and elected to bat on a good batting pitch at Indore. David Warner and Aaron Finch started on a cautious against the new ball bowlers of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. At the end of first 10 overs, Australia scored 49 runs for 0. After the powerplay overs, both batsmen continued to play good attacking strokes. In the 14th, Hardik Pandya dismissed David Warner ending 70 runs stand for the first wicket.
Aaron Finch who was playing his first game of the series was looking in good touch smashing the Indian bowlers. He completed 50 in 61 balls and continued to put pressure on Indian spinners. It was a great batting display by Finch who played with positive intent. Aaron Finch completed his century in 110 balls while Steve Smith also showed class with his bat and completed his half-century off 55 balls. Finch continued to play with aggressive intent before being dismissed for 124. Both Aaron Finch and Steve Smith added 154 runs for the second wicket. After the loss of Finch wicket, none of the Australian batsmen contributed as the visitors scored just 59 runs in last 10 overs, losing 4 wickets. Kuldeep Yadav picked 2 important wickets of Aaron Finch and Steve Smith. Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled brilliantly in death overs. Australia ended with a total of 293 for 6 in 50 overs.
Chasing a target of 294, Rohit Sharma and Rahane began the Indian innings on a positive note with great stroke play, especially from Sharma. At the end of first 10 overs, India scored 68 runs for 0. Both the batsmen showed great intent to the Australian bowlers. Rohit Sharma completed his half-century in 42 balls while Rahane followed with fifty in 50 balls. India lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma at the score of 139 with his individual score of 71. Rahane too was dismissed soon after for 70.
At number 4, Hardik Pandya was sent and played with positive intent against the Australian spinners. The Indian captain Virat Kohli with Hardik Pandya put on 56 runs. Captain Kohli was dismissed for 28 while Kedar Jadhav also was dismissed cheaply. Hardik Pandya played a responsible knock completing his half-century in 45 balls. After completing his fifty, the all-rounder continued to play in attacking fashion. Pandya was dismissed for 78 ending 78 runs stand for the 5th wicket. Manish Pandey hit the winning run remaining not out on 36 in 32 balls. India won the match by 5 wickets with 13 balls to spare.
India 294 for 5 in 47.5 overs ( Hardik Pandya 78, Rohit Sharma 71, Rahane 70, Pat Cummins 2/54) beat Australia 293 for 6 in 50 overs ( Aaron Finch 124, Steve Smith 63, Bumrah 2/52, Kuldeep Yadav 2/75) by 5 wickets.
Captain Virat Kohli said: It was a great batting wicket. Australia started off very well and looked to score 300 plus but our spinners pulled it back. The idea of sending Hardik Pandya was off Ravi Shastri bat, ball. He has worked hard. In the next two matches, we would give chances to other players like Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.
Man of the match Hardik Pandya said: It feels very good to play a good knock under pressure. I wanted to target the left arm spinner and wanted to get better.
With this win, India takes an unassailable lead of 3-0 and also rise to number 1 rankings in ODI cricket. The fourth match of the series will be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on 28th September
