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Australia defeated India and clinched an unbeatable 3-0 series lead on Sunday night thanks to an excellent performance with the bat from Glenn Maxwell (96 off 83).
The match was thoroughly enjoyable, much better than the first two ODIs. A lot of it was to do with the pitch which wasn’t as flat as the first two.
For India it was the same old thing – strange captaincy calls, fielding could have been better and the bowlers gave away more loose balls than they should have for the Aussies to take advantage of. Another sobering defeat for India despite the few positives.
Final score
India 6/295
Australia 7/296
A series defeat stares India in the face when they take on Australia in the third ODI of their five-match series at the MCG in Melbourne. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of this game on Sunday from 2:20pm AEDT.
India are in strife after going down 2-0 and that’s bit of an understatement.
Twice in two games they have almost scored 310 and on both occasions, they have gone down in a jiffy. Australia’s chase in both those games has been clinical and that has left the visitors with a lot of questions to be answered.
India’s problems start at the top of the order with one of the openers, Shikhar Dhawan out of form.
Down the middle, there’s an issue with the finishing, one that’s cost India at least 20-30 runs in both games. With MS Dhoni struggling to get going and Suresh Raina absent from the squad, the reliance on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to bat through the innings has been greater than usual.
The result? They have had to push back their plans of putting their foot on the pedal.
And last, but definitely not the least, India’s bowling has looked innocuous. Ishant Sharma came in for Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the second ODI but that didn’t turn India’s fortunes around too much as the Aussie top four got going easily after Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh had gotten off to a slow start.
Dhoni’s problems are compounded by the fact he relies on two spinners on surfaces where slow bowlers get little help, and his aversion to playing a fourth seamer in place of one of the tweakers has now reached baffling proportions.
Australia are playing with a second-string bowling line-up as well and on flat surfaces, India have been able to get away with their scores.
The good news however for the Aussies is the batting form.
Marsh slotted into the opening position in David Warner’s absence with ease and Finch found some form too at the Gabba.
Steve Smith is never far away from runs these days, especially against India while George Bailey is showing traces of the form he had during the India tour of 2013-14, making him a potent threat against spinners.
With Mitchell Marsh rested from the second ODI, John Hastings took over the role well. He should play in the third ODI too with only question-marks over Kane Richardson’s place.
Richardson went for a few runs in the previous game, his first after a couple of years but the management might look to back him for at least one more game before making a decision on what needs to be done.
The absence of a frontline spinner means Glenn Maxwell will lead the spin attack again.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of this Australia versus India ODI from 2:20pm AEDT on Sunday and post your comments in the section below.
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