A batting collapse which no-one saw coming has helped Australia to a stunning win in the fourth ODI against India in Canberra.
A 212-run partnership between Virat Kohli (106 off 92) and Shikhar Dhawan (126 off 113) had the tourists cruising towards their target of 349. But the wickets of Dhawan and MS Dhoni for a duck, both falling in the one John Hastings over (2 for 50), sent nerves running through India’s batting order.
When Kohli fell two overs later to man-of-the-match Kane Richardson (5 for 68), the tide had well and truly turned the way of Australia, and the tourists never looked like recovering. They were eventually bowled out for 323 in the final over, 25 runs adrift of the hosts.
Earlier, a 187-run opening partnership between Aaron Finch (107 off 107) and David Warner (93 off 92) had propelled Australia to an imposing total of 348.
Returning from a break to witness the birth of his second child, Warner got off to a blistering start before eventually getting bogged down and dismissed by Ishant Sharma (4 for 77) just short of his hundred.
There were no such problems for Finch, who scored his second hundred in as many matches at Manuka Oval, eventually falling trying to up the ante against Umesh Yadav (3 for 67).
The partnership laid the ideal platform for the middle order to prosper, and although Mitchell Marsh (33 off 42) couldn’t make the most of his promotion to first drop, enterprising innings from Steve Smith (51 off 29) and Glenn Maxwell (41 off 20) saw Australia to a score that would prove to be too much for India.
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