Man of the Series for Dhoni after 7 years , India beat Australia by 7 wickets
MS Dhoni’s unbeaten 87 off 114 balls guided India to its maiden bilateral series win against Aussies in Australia. Mahendra Singh Dhoni anchored India to their first bilateral ODI series triumph in Australia in Melbourne on Friday. India became the first country which hasn’t lost a single series in Australia during the tour. India won the ODI series by 2-1, Test series by 2-1 and drew the T20 by 1-1.
Disastrous Start
India lurched to a disastrous start, losing the wicket of Rohit Sharma early in the innings, Shikhar Dhawan was caught and bowled in the first over of Marcus Stoinis. It got worse for India when Kohli was caught behind the stumps by Carey. Kedhar Jadhav then joined Dhoni and put on a 121 runs partnership to steal the show. Kedhar, playing his first ever ODI in Australia, showed great temperament and soothed Indian nerves as he scored 52 runs and struck two fours in the penultimate over making it a nail-biting finish.
Yuzvendra spins a web
Yuzvendra Chahal grabbed 6 wickets, his career best, as Australia were all out for 230 in the 49th over. Chahal previous best of 5-22 was against South Africa at centurion last year in January. The right-arm wrist spinner can now seal his place in the 2019 World Cup squad, as he has proven that he has the ability to perform on foreign soil.
Earlier, Marsh looked well set but was beaten into the flight and flamboyantly stumped by Dhoni. Peter Handscomb scored 58, keeping Australia in the match, before he was LBW by Chahal and Australia were bowled out for 230.
With each and every Indian batsman performing in the series shows how India is gearing up for the World Cup. Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the Man of the Series award after 7 years. The upcoming New Zealand series, starting from Wednesday, can be a decider, as it is the last away series for India before the 2019 WC and players will try to seal their place by performing well.