Rohit Sharma slams 29th ODI Hundred as India clinch series 2-1
By Anurag Mallick Published on 19 Jan 2020 9:21 PM IST
Hyderabad: It was a super Sunday for all the cricket fans as a complete effort from Team India beat the mighty Aussies by 8 wickets in a do or die encounter at the Chinnaswamy stadium at Bangalore on Sunday.
It was three in three for Aaron Finch at the toss as he once again called it right and elected to bat first. A decision which was quite unexpected as Chinnaswamy has always been a pitch, better known for chasing targets.
Openers Aaron Finch and David Warner walked out to bat as Mohammed Shami sent David Warner packing for 3. He knicked one to KL Rahul behind the stumps. Steven Smith walked in to bat at No-3. Shami continued the short-ball attack at Smith and he played it equally well.
A miscommunication between Smith and Finch led to a fumble and Finch was short of his crease. He was absolutely fuming as he walked back on 19. Then came Marnus Labuschagne. India were well aware of the duo's exploits earlier in Rajkot.
The duo once again became the sight of bother for India as Smith and Labuschagne brought up their individual fifties. It was Labuschagne's maiden fifty in ODIs. They stiched a wonderful partnership of 127 runs until a planned move led Marnus Labuschagne hitting one straight up to Virat on 54.
The surprise move of promoting Starc up the order backfired at the Aussies. He was out for a duck. Smith tried slogging a few but was out for a brilliant 131. Mohammed Shami cleaned the Aussie tail up. Australia finished on 286-9.
India needed 287 to win the series but received a huge shock as Shikhar Dhawan did not walk out yo bat as he injured his left shoulder while fielding. It was KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma for India. The duo were off to a flying start. They went after each and every Aussie bowler and kept the Run-rate in check.
Adam Zampa soon came in with the breakthrough as he sent KL Rahul back for 19. It was all on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and they did not disappoint. They built a match-winning partnership of 137. Rohit Sharma brought up his 29th ODI Hundred, his 8th against Australia. He was also the 3rd fastest to 9000 ODI runs. He soon got out for a magnificent 119 as Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli stitched a quick 68-run partnership, which made sure India were home. Although Virat missed out on his 44th ODI century, He made sure India were almost over the line. Manish Pandey hit the winning runs as India beat a Top-Australian side by 7 wickets and won the series by 2-1.
