India v Australia 2017, 5th ODI: Hits and Misses
After a rare blip in the fourth game of the ODI series, India bounced back strongly to take it 4-1 with a dominant performance at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur on Sunday (October 1).
After being put in to field by Australia, Virat Kohli’s men exuded complete confidence with the ball in the first innings. They showed intent in the field and put on a disciplined performance, more so in the last 10 overs of the game. They were successful in restricting Australia to a humble total of 242-9 at the end of 50 overs.
If they were disciplined with the ball, they were ridiculously powerful with the bat. They chased the target in 42.5 overs, losing just three wickets in the process. It should be noted that two of those three wickets came in the last seven overs of the innings, long after the team had already pocketed the victory.
This match, and this series in extension, have both been a testament to India’s supremacy in the format. Let us look at the hits and misses of the game:
#1 Hit: Rohit Sharma
One of the biggest masterstrokes of MS Dhoni’s captaincy career was to promote Rohit Sharma to the top of the order. It not only changed the fortunes of the batsman but of the Indian batting order as a whole.
The right-handed batsman scored his 14th ODI century today, with elegance and poise. He also crossed the milestone of 6000 ODI runs with this knock.
Partnering beautifully with Ajinkya Rahane at the top of the order, Sharma made sure that Australia did not get a sniff of victory. The highlights of his innings were two sumptuous sixes over mid-wicket.
He scored 125 off 109 deliveries before he was dismissed while trying to score a six in the same area again.
Sharma easily is the most dependable opener in world cricket right now and is scaling new heights with each match and series.