5 Talking Points from 3rd ODI between Australia and India - Costly dot balls, sledging and lightning hands

Australia clinched the ODI series with a 3-wicket victory over India at the MCG, extending their unbeaten streak at home to 18 matches, a world record.Misfields, dropped catches, poor form of one opener and indiscipline by Indian bowlers were yet again the issues haunting the Indian team, as they collapsed to a defeat strangely similar in margin to the last two matches.It did look for a considerable duration on Sunday that the visitors would claim their first win in the series. These are the most talked about moments and decisions from the match which decided the outcome of the thriller.

#1 Shikhar \'Dotwan\'

Shikhar Dhawan was among the runs, but his runs came at too big a cost

Dhawan scored 68 on Sunday, his highest score since June 2015 against Bangladesh, but the doubts regarding his capabilities refuse to die down. He faced 91 balls for his 68, and in a series of high scoring rates, his strike rate of 74.73 can be called disappointing at best.

He faced a jaw-dropping 41 dot balls. Australia won the match with 7 balls to spare, a figure that shows how costly Dhawan’s stay at the crease was.

Kohli and Dhawan did build a good partnership to stabilize the innings after the loss of Rohit Sharma’s wicket, but the number of dot balls he faced put India’s score in the first 20 overs a good 30 runs less Australia’s at the same stage, and ensured that India never looked like reaching the 330-mark called for by Dhoni before the match.

At the risk of sounding harsh, Dhawan’s slow innings looked like being played for the sake of saving his own spot in the side than the team’s cause.