Australia vs India Third ODI Highlights – Dhoni’s Helicopter Shots Almost Took it Away!
Australia pulled a thrilling victory in the face of what seemed like certain defeat. Dhoni's spectacular performance with 139 not out was not enough! Adam Voges and James Faulkner ensure the victory. Here are the highlights of the match.
India Batting
Australia won the toss and elected to field first. India had a shaky start; Clint McKay struck early as Brad Haddin took a catch dismissing Shikhar Dhawan for just eight runs. Virat Kohli stabilized the Indian innings with 9 fours and scoring a total of 68 runs.
The Indian captain got the momentum going with his helicopter shots, hitting 12 fours and 5 sixes. He scored a total of 139 runs and remained not out. India posted a massive 303 runs on the board for Australia to chase.
Australia Bowling
Australian bowlers got good support from the fielders with Haddin alone taking five catches. The pitch offered the bowlers sufficient pace and bounce to get the job done. Mitchell Johnson ended up taking four wickets, the highest from the Australian side in the match.
There were some slip ups, however; the danger man Dhoni gave an easy catch, which was dropped by George Bailey. But by then the damage had already been done.
Australia Batting:
Realising that chasing 303 may not be easy, Australia laid a strong foundation for their team. There was an all round average performance by the top order batsmen. The highest run scorer was Adam Voges with a total of 76 runs.
In spite of the efforts of other batsmen like Bailey, who scored a total of 43 runs, the Australian team seemed to be on their way to losing the match. Faulkner delivered at a very crucial stage, scoring 30 runs off the 48th over. He finished off the match giving Australia a four wicket win. He remained not out, scoring a total of 64 runs.
Consequences of the Match
While there is jubilation in the Australian camp, there has been a lot of introspection in India. The struggling bowling department has come under scrutiny. Ishant Sharma has particularly come under sharp attack, especially for conceding the 30 runs in the 48th over.
Sharma has conceded the maximum runs, totalling 63, among the Indian bowlers. There is possibility of him getting the axe for this performance. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has reportedly suggested that India should bring back bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.