Australia become the number-one ODI team in the latest ICC rankings
Australia beat India in the decider of the three-match ODI series to become World no.1 in the ICC ODI rankings. With their 2-1 series victory over the Men in Blue, the Aussies leapfrogged India in the ICC rankings.
The series began with India winning the first ODI by five wickets at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Aussies then stormed back and won the second ODI by ten wickets with 39 overs remaining to level the series and set up a thrilling finale.
The third ODI in Chennai was evenly poised at the halfway stage, with the visitors scoring a competitive 269 on a two-paced pitch. The hosts began the run chase on a positive note, with Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma putting on 65 for the opening partnership in nine overs.
However, after Sean Abbott's initial breakthrough to remove Sharma, the spin twins, Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, kept a lid on the scoring and took wickets at regular intervals.
The game was still in the balance with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja at the crease. That's when Zampa returned for his final two overs to dismiss Pandya and Jadeja in quick succession as India fell short of the target by 21 runs.
We have a new World No.1 🎉
Australia climb to the top of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings after the series victory against India 👏
🗒: bit.ly/MensODITeamRan… https://t.co/Ujz1xrWpw0
The 30-year-old leg spinner was adjudged the Player of the Match for his outstanding spell of 4/45 and opener Mitchell Marsh, the Man of the series for his 194 runs at an average of 97 and a strike rate of 131.
With this victory, the Australians are now the number-one ranked team in the world in both ODI and Test cricket.
Australia win their second ODI series in India in the last four years
Winning in India in any format is one of the biggest challenges for any touring team in international cricket. While Team India have not lost a Test series at home in over ten years, this is now the second time in four years Australia have managed to defeat India in an ODI series at home.
In 2019, Australia beat India 3-2 in India in the 5-match ODI series after trailing 2-0 initially. This series panned out similarly, as the Aussies were in a situation where they had to win all the remaining matches to win the series.
With the 2023 ICC World cup set to be played in India, Australia will likely be India's biggest threat as the hosts try to break their drought in ICC events.
The teams will now disperse to their respective IPL franchises for the next two months before meeting again in the finals of the World Test Championship at the Oval starting on June 7.