Aussies keep series alive
India Lose By 32 Runs As Kohli Ton Gones In Vain;Khwaja Scored 104; Kuldeep Bags 3 For 64
Australia defeated Indiaa by 32 runs in the third ODI to keep the five match series alive on friday.Chasing Australia's stiff 313 for 5, India were bowled out Virat Kohli scoaring 123 off 95 balls.
Player Of The Match:
Usman Khawaja
Australia were close
in the first two ODIs but today they have managed to cross the line and in the
process, have shown the cracks in India's line-up. The opening partnership,
especially Dhawan, is struggling, the number four slot is back in question and
what is the role of Jadeja in this team. Is he a bowler who can bat a bit? Or
considered as a genuine all rounder? India need to answer these questions in
the next two ODIs and it won't be easy as the series is at stake and they can't
afford slip ups. It will be interesting to see how they respond. That's it from
us. This is Akshay Maanaysigning off on behalf of my
colleagues Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Hariprasad Sadanandan, Rishi
Roy and Shashikant Singh. Cya!
Khawaja,
Man of the Match: There is nothing like winning. Specially against a very
good Indian side. They made us work hard. Patty getting us those wickets early
when we first went out there was massive, but Virat batting the way he is and
then a lot of good batsmen around, nice to get that win. The bowlers bowled
beautifully. We probably would have bowled first and weren't quite sure what a
good score is, but Finchy batted beautifully at the start, we got a nice
partnership and the lower-order finished off well. It was not easy towards the
end when the ball got soft. They batted beautifully to put up that total. My
first hundred in ODIs, I had 98 before this and ran myself out, so it was nice
to get those extra two runs today.
Finch: It
was a pretty good performance by our guys. To get 300 on that wicket was really
good batting performance. The way we bowled up front, we put the squeeze on and
got three big wickets. It was nice (opening stand) and I think it is important,
especially in these conditions we know how hard it is for guys to come in and
score quickly in the middle overs. It was important that Usman and I kept going
as deep as we could and allow Maxi to come in and play the way he does, Stoinis
too. I have been training really hard and working on my game as hard as I possibly
can. I have always had the faith I would get some runs. It was nice to start us
off with a good partnership and set up what was a defendable total. Usman
played a fantastic knock and Zamps bowled well. I think Jhye was standout with
the ball too. To be able to put pressure on world class players and to get
wickets on a wicket which was easy to score with the new ball. The work he did
was outstanding and Patty Cummins was at his best again.
Kohli
(2/2): The guys who have got out will want to make the most of
the opportunity. We don't want collapses. We want partnerships that can get us
going. In terms of hitting the ball, it was one of my finest hundreds. I just
felt really clear in my head from ball one. Even after three wickets I thought
I should play my game and not think of what happens if I play my shots. I was
very disappointed when I got out. I really thought we had a chance with the
difference being 20 between balls and runs. Australia played better on the day.
Adam bowled well and they won the game. We will have a few changes in the next
couple of games. We have to figure out what those changes are. But the idea is
to go out there and win matches and take a lot of pride in winning games for
the country. That mindset will not change. We will have a few new faces and
they will have to make the most of their chances because there is a World Cup
coming and everyone wants to be on that flight. The guys are excited and
looking forward to it. A little hiccup in the middle but we will regroup and
come back stronger.
Kohli
(1/2): We were (in the game) specially how we pulled back things
in the last 10 overs. We thought we would be chasing 350+ with the way
Australia were going. I think they batted outstandingly well in the first 40
overs, but we pulled it back in the last 10 after Maxi's run out. We were quite
optimistice of our chance but well.. We were told there was going to be dew
around 7-7 30, but there is not a drop of dew on the ground even now. I got
that calculation wrong a little bit. Nonetheless, we were keen to get that
score on the board. The wicket wasn't improving at all and wasn't getting
easier to bat on. So we had to make the most of whatever loose balls we got. I
tried to do that for a decent time of the innings I played in but eventually I knew,
the odd risk you have to keep taking and one more wicket it would get
difficult. That is exactly what happened. If we were three down with 100 needed
off 13-14 overs, it was still achievable. But with five down it was difficult.
Australia knew that as well and they kept pitching in the areas that made us
hit good shots, then I got and Vijay got out, there was no looking back from
there. No team wants to do that (lose 4-5 wickets early). We are a team that
takes a lot of pride in our cricket. We are a team that have strung in
partnerships. We haven't lost three in bunches many times. So it has happened a
couple of times in the series and that is something we look forward to plugging
in the next couple of games.
Stat
alert: Khawaja (104) - first individual hundred for Australia in
a winning cause since David Warner's 124 in Bengaluru in Sep 2017. Seven
individual 100s since and all seven resulted in losses. Also the fourth time in
last five ODIs that India have been bowled out
Adam
Zampa: 'We bowled well collectively. The quicks upfront were amazing,
Virat is a serious player, it was good to take his wicket when we did. I don't
think he's my bunny, he's one of the hardest players to bowl to. I was under a
bit of pressure, if he had hit a couple of more boundaries, the momentum would
have shifted towards them. The message from the management and the coach was to
take wickets, the mindset was the same. The wickets here in India are pretty
good and the outfield fast, that has a say in your bowling.’
Total 313/5 in 50 overs
India: Virat Kohli b Zampa 123, Vijay Shankar c Richadson b Lyon 32
Total 281 in 48.2
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