Australia replaced India as the number one ODI side in the world with a 21-run victory in a tense series decider in Chennai.
After the tourists romped to a 10-wicket win in the second match in Visakhapatnam, the third ODI was a much more closely contested affair, but with Australia and stand-in captain Steve Smith coming out on top once more.
It was another game where ball dominated bat and it was a team effort that saw Australia reach 269 all out. None of their players reached 50 but Smith — caught behind for a three-ball duck off Hardik Pandya (3/44) — was the only man not to reach double figures.
India captain Rohit Sharma (30), fellow opener Shubman Gill (37) and KL Rahul (32) all made valuable contributions around a half-century from Virat Kohli before the pivotal moment arrived in the 36th over, when Ashton Agar (2/41) removed Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav with consecutive balls to reduce India to 185/6.
Smith pouched Pandya for 40 off Adam Zampa (4/45), with Sean Abbott (1/50) having put the squeeze on with a brilliant 43rd over that cost just three.
Mitchell Starc (0/67) was contrastingly wayward as he fired down six wides but Zampa had his fourth wicket of a superb spell when Ravindra Jadeja skewed him to backward point for 18. Some belligerent late-order hitting from Mohamed Shami (14 off 10) kept India interested but Marcos Stoinis bowled him with a perfect yorker to underline that the tail had been left with far too much to do.
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Did Virat Kohli blow it for India in the 3rd ODI vs Australia?
It was easy to rue Kohli’s demise for a watchful 54 off 72 balls and it was certainly a pivotal moment in the match. India’s star batter hadn’t exactly played a chanceless knock but it felt like the hosts were making serene progress towards a series win with their star batter at the crease. The fact Yadav fell to Ashton Agar’s next delivery made Kohli lofting the slow left-armer to David Warner at mid-off all the harder to take, but it was part of a pattern on a Chennai surface where runs seldom came easy and batters were never set.
KL Rahul perished in similar fashion as he hit Zampa to Sean Abbott for 32 and it wasn’t as if India’s engine room hadn’t had prior warning. Earlier, the experienced Warner — batting at four on his ODI return and not opening for only the second time in 140 innings in the format — and the studiously watchful Marnus Labuschagne each holed out to long-off to the benefit of Kuldeep Yadav (3/56) when they had 23 and 28 respectively.
Suryakumar Yadav’s golden duck despair
He might be the No.1 batter in T20Is but the white ball has not proved to be Yadav’s friend in recent days. One of the most feared players in the game was reduced to something close to a laughing stock over the course of these three matches. His first-ball dismissal to Agar was a third golden duck in as many innings. Dropping down the order from four to seven could not change his fortunes here.
Yadav has only scored two half-centuries in 21 ODI innings. The last of those was against West Indies last February and he has produced six single-figure scores since, preceding his dismal efforts in this series. In terms of raw talent, there can be no doubts about Yadav, but there are now understandably plenty over whether he will remain in India’s ODI team.
How many runs did Mitchell Marsh get in the India ODI series?
Once again, Marsh was the leading scorer for Australia at the top of the order, but this was a very different effort to his lone hand of 81 off 65 balls as Australia subsided to 188 all out in the first match. It was also entirely at odds with the belligerent 66 not out at a strike rate of 183.33 last time out. He faced more deliveries on this occasion but a run-a-ball 47 was sharp progress in the context of this game.
Earlier in his career, Marsh at times looked like a one-dimensional big-hitter but he has so much more to his game nowadays. His adaptability is a key reason for Australia going to No.1 in the world in ODIs in India in the same year there is an ODI World Cup in India. This is a statement win and the saturated international schedule should not obscure that fact.
269 - @CricketAus team total of 269 in the #INDvAUS men's ODI today was 23 runs more than the Opta Predictor forecast after 28.1 overs of play. Uptick. pic.twitter.com/H9fSvwvWlT
— OptaJason (@OptaJason) March 22, 2023
Is Hardik Pandya India’s best all-rounder?
Pandya will now turn his attention towards the IPL, where he will look to repeat his talismanic title-winning turn as Gujurat Titans captain. This was another fine display from a supreme cricketer, who finally seems to have put years of struggling against his body behind him. His bowling almost disappeared from view over 2020 and 2021 but he knocked over Australia’s top three here. Pandya then hit 40 off as many deliveries and Australia could only truly breathe easily once the excellent Zampa forced him from the stage.
5 - #TeamIndia's @hardikpandya7 has now taken at least one wicket in each of his last five men's ODIs at home when bowling more than one over, the longest run of such games in his career in the format. Handy.#INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/dGcXi37543
— OptaJeev (@OptaJeev) March 22, 2023
