India vs Australia 2020 | 3rd ODI, Bangalore: 3 observations from the match as the Men in Blue win another home series
India hosted Australia at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for the third ODI. This match was the decider as the three-match ODI series was tied at 1-1 after the hosts defeated Australia in the 2nd ODI at Rajkot on Friday.
On a dry wicket, Australia surprisingly decided to bat first and they didn't get off to good start as David Warner was dismissed by Mohammed Shami, before Aaron Finch lost his wicket, thanks to a runout, which left the visitors two down for just 46 runs.
A 127-run partnership followed between Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, until the latter was dismissed for a well-played 54 from 64 balls. This is where Australia lost the plot, barring Alex Carey, no one supported a set Smith from the other end. After the former Australian skipper was dismissed for 131, the visitors could post a total of only 286 for the loss of 9 wickets.
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Chasing an average score, India's two best batsmen of the decade - Rohit Sharma (119 from 128 balls) and Virat Kohli (89 from 90 balls) made it look easy out there and a cameo from Shreyas Iyer towards the end made sure India won the game by 7 wickets. The hosts won the series 2-1 in the end, which they thoroughly deserved. Here, we are going to take a look at the three observations from the game.
#3 Jasprit Bumrah - The Controller, Mohammed Shami - The Wicket Taker
The Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami duo is currently one of the best in the world and the reason for that is that they complement each other really well. Bumrah, with the new ball, was absolutely outstanding as his lines and lengths were almost impeccable. Because of the pressure he created from one end, Shami benefited and kept taking wickets from the other.
It worked perfectly for India, not only with the new ball but also at the death. Shami has improved so much over the past couple of months and his yorkers were spot on today as he picked 4 wickets in 10 overs, giving away 63 runs.
Bumrah, on the other hand, just gave away 38 runs from his 10 overs, although he couldn't get himself a wicket. Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with 2 wickets, while Navdeep Saini and Kuldeep Yadav picked one apiece.
#2 Australia's lower middle-order failed again
In the 2nd and 3rd ODI, we saw a similar pattern being repeated from Australia's batting department. In Rajkot and in Bengaluru, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne stitched together two partnerships exceeding 100 runs but after one of them was dismissed, the away side's lower middle-order couldn't take advantage of the respective situations.
When Labuschagne was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja; the likes of Mitchell Starc (0 from 3 balls), Pat Cummins (0 from 1 ball), and Ashton Turner (4 from 10 balls) failed to provide any firepower towards the end, which meant Australia could only post a below-par total of 286. Maybe they are missing someone like Glenn Maxwell?
#1 Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli showed why they are considered modern-day greats
Chasing 287 against a good Australian bowling attack could have been very tricky but when you have two quality batsmen like Sharma and Kohli, what's there to worry about?
The Indian vice-captain, in particular, took on the Australian bowling attack from the start, which meant that the visitors were always chasing the game. He scored his 29th ODI hundred and now, one can easily say that he is one of the best if not the best ODI batsman in the world.
Then there is Virat Kohli, who is called the 'Chase Master' for a reason. The skipper never looked like he was struggling, from the point he came on, it seemed as if he had everything sorted out. Sharma and Kohli made it look easy against Australia, which is what they almost always do.
Also read: India vs Australia 2020 | Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma star as India clinch series 2-1 in Bangalore