A flurry of wickets towards the end left Australia stranded on 286/9 in 50 overs—a good 20-30 runs short which looked possible when Steve Smith was batting—against India in the third and final ODI, in Bengaluru today.
Mohammed Shami was the wrecker-in-chief, taking 4/63 in his 10 overs, with three of those wickets coming in his last two overs, thus derailing the momentum for the Aussies. It included the prized scalp of Smith (131), who brought up his ninth ODI ton.
He and Marnus Labuschagne (54) shared a 127-run partnership for the third wicket, to raise hopes of a strong finish. And though Alex Carey gave company to Smith with a well-made 35, the Indian bowlers, led by Shami, managed to pull things back in the end.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, too, was instrumental in keeping things tight, giving away just 44 runs in his 10 overs and taking two wickets as well.
Earlier, Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat. After the batting order confusion that led to their defeat in the opener, India got their batting combination right for the second match in Rajkot. India levelled the series against Australia in the second ODI with a 36-run win. Australia had thrashed the hosts in the first ODI in Mumbai by 10 wickets after David Warner and Finch hit centuries to guide the visitors to a comfortable victory.
India have a cause for worry, though. Opener Shikhar Dhawan was taken for an X-ray after he hurt his left shoulder while fielding.
A call on his participation in the match will be taken after further assessment, the BCCI said in a statement.
