Winning a series in India for any visiting side is one of the toughest tasks in cricket. But when the opposition is Australia, the Men in Blue cannot be assured of their home turf. On this day in 2019, Australia scripted a memorable comeback to win the series from 2-0 down in the first two matches of the 5-match ODI series.
Series Decider in Delhi
After winning the third and fourth ODI, the Kangaroos leveled the series before coming to Delhi for the last match of the series. The Aussie captain, Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat first in the decider. The opening pair of Finch and Usman Khawaja added 76 runs for the first wicket. This impressive stand gave Australia a head start in the contest. After Finch’s departure, Khawaja stitched another solid partnership with Peter Handscomb.
Khawaja went on to complete his century just before his dismissal. His wicket slowed down the momentum for Australia as Peter Handscomb was also dismissed quickly. These wickets in quick succession disrupted the smooth ride and India made a strong comeback in the contest. A late comeback from the home team prevented Australia from breaching the 300-run mark. In the end, the Aussies could only post 272 runs on the board.
The Kangaroos clinch the series
At the end of the first innings, the Indian team had an edge in the contest but they had to suffer an early blow as Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed in the first few overs. A partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli brewed after that dismissal but before it could become dangerous Australia got rid of the Indian captain, Virat Kohli. After his departure, a string of wickets followed which weakened India’s run chase significantly.
A lower-order partnership between Kedar Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept India alive in the match but both were dismissed on consecutive deliveries by Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson to shatter the hopes of Indian fans. Eventually, Australia wrapped up the Indian innings for 237 which resulted in a 35-run victory for the visitors in the series decider.
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