India vs Australia 2020: 3 standout players from the series
India recovered from a 0-1 deficit to clinch the three-match ODI series against Australia at home 2-1.
After David Warner and Aaron Finch decimated the Indian bowling in the opening one-dayer at Mumbai, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul combined to help India draw level at Rajkot. Rohit Sharma then joined the party with a century in the decider at Bengaluru as India triumphed by seven wickets.
For Australia, Steve Smith excelled with 98 and 131. However, lack of support from the rest, barring Marnus Labuschagne, hurt the visitors in a big way.
Among the bowlers, Mohammed Shami impressed for India with seven wickets while Adam Zampa did his reputation no harm with five. However, the lack of effectiveness of pacers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc after the first ODI heroics led to Australia’s undoing in a big way.
With India having wrapped up the series with a clinical effort at Bengaluru, we take a look at the three standout performers across the three games.
Also see – India vs New Zealand schedule
#3 Mohammed Shami
Although Mohammed Shami conceded runs at an economy rate of 7.15, his efforts were still commendable considering the crucial wickets he got and the timing of his victims.
At Bengaluru, Shami claimed the scalp of David Warner early, and then dismissed a well-set Smith for 131. This was at the start of the 48th over; had Smith stayed on for the last couple of overs, he could have added some crucial runs at a quick pace.
Shami then proceeded to clean up Cummins and Zampa to ensure there was no final flourish in store for Australia. If not for Shami, the Aussies could have gone well above 300 in the innings.
Shami made a significant contribution in the second ODI at Rajkot too. While Warner’s wicket in the game was due to Manish Pandey’s brilliance, Shami sent back Ashton Turner and Cummins off successive deliveries to cripple any chances of Australia’s fightback.
The Aussies were 259 for 5 after 43 overs, and had an outside chance of chasing down 341 when Shami came into the picture and swung the match India’s way completely.