The difference between India and Australia in this series has been the ability to handle pressure. India came out on top every time they were put under pressure. Australia, in contrast, kept losing the initiative throughout. The 5th and last one-dayer on Sunday was no different.
Aaron Finch and David Warner again provided a breezy start to the visitors. They added 60 in first ten overs after Steve Smith won the toss and batted again. However, Indian spinners - Axar Patel (10-0-38-3), Kuldeep Yadav (10-1-48-0) and Kedar Jadhav (10-0-48-1) - yet again choked the runs as the Australian middle order succumbed to pressure for the fourth time in the series. Eventually, they ended up scoring 242-9 in their 50 overs in the last One-dayer on a relaid Jamtha wicket in Nagpur on Sunday.
Indian batsmen - led by Rohit Sharma (125) - then showed their Australian counter parts how to build the innings and finish off the job. The chase was completed with 43 balls and seven wickets intact. Rohit, who completed his 14th hundred and 6,000 runs in ODIs, hit his sixth hundred against Australia.
The opening pair of Rohit and Ajiknya Rahane (61) had their third consecutive century stand (124) of the series. It was also the eighth opening-wicket century stand for India this year - the most by any country in 2017 and Rahane has been involved in five of those. After Rahane's dismissal, Rohit continued the good work in the company of Virat Kohli (39) and added 99 for the second wicket. By the time both gifted their wickets to Adam Zampa, the match was over. Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey completed the formalities.
Rohit and Rahane lit up the Jamtha ground with some breathtaking strokeplay. Their driving was of the highest quality. All the eight boundaries they hit in the first ten overs were testimony of their class and form. Rohit took 15 balls to get off the mark.
Warner, Oz halt Indians
The fourth and penultimate contest in the India-Australia series at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru turned out to be a treat for spectators in which the Australians scored a morale boosting 21-run win. The victory came a little late though as India had already wrapped up the series 3-0 at Indore.
Australian skipper Steve Smith chose to bat and the opening duo of Aaron Finch (94) and David Warner (124) bludgeoned a vastly-changed Indian bowling line-up en route to a record 231 first wicket stand which helped the visitors to 334-5 - a daunting target, but not one that appeared out of reach of India's batsmen. But with wickets falling at regular intervals, India finished their quota of overs at 313-8.
Ajinkya Rahane (53) and Rohit Sharma (65) put the team on course with their 106-run opening stand. Rahane, Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli (21) fell within a space of 31 runs thereafter, setting India back briefly. Kohli's dismissal only mirrored his abysmal form at this venue.
