India snatches defeat from the jaws of victory at Canberra
Centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli went in vain as India lost nine wickets for 46 runs to succumb to a twenty-five run defeat in the fourth ODI to gift Australia a 4-0 lead and a whitewash opportunity in the five-match series at the Manuka Oval, Canberra on Wednesday.
Brief Scores:Australia 348/8 in 50 overs (Finch 107(107), Warner 93(92), Smith 51(29), Ishant 4/77) beat India 323 all out in 49.2 overs (Dhawan 126(113), Kohli 106(92), Richardson 5/68) by 25 runs
For the fourth time in a row, it looked like a win for the chasing team. And for the first time, India was chasing. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli put India on the cusp of what seemed an easy win, before the Men in Blue lost their heads.
Rohit Sharma got India off to a rollicking start by sending off-spinner Nathan Lyon for 23 in his two overs. The Mumbai cricketer, who scored two centuries in the first two ODIs, looked set for another after sending Kane Richardson for two sixes and a boundary in the eighth over. In what was an anticlimax, Rohit edged a ball from Richardson down the leg side to Wade behind the wicket ending his 41 run blitz off 25 balls.
Virat Kohli came out next and looked a man on a mission driving Faulkner for a boundary off his first ball. Dhawan also joined the party by producing a cracking shot to send Hastings over the point for a six. The Australian bowling looked no match for the duo as India raced past the hundred-run mark in the 13th over. Dhawan, who has been guilty of playing dot balls in the first three ODIs, searched for ones and twos in every over to keep India’s run rate above seven.
Arguably for the first time in the series, Steve Smith looked like a lost man after trying every possible bowler in the Aussie line up against the Indian duo. The captain even rolled his arm over for a couple of overs in search of a wicket only to see his balls flying towards the boundary. With 6.98 runs needed per over from the start, India’s run rate never went below the seven-run mark in the first thirty overs of the chase.
Dhawan crossed the hundred-run mark first with a
However, the sudden departures of Dhawan, Dhoni and Kohli sent India into a minor collapse at 278/4. Gurkeerat Singh also followed his predecessors shortly, going for a glory shot against Lyon. Rahane, suffering from a split webbing in his hand, also made his way back to the dressing room after a brief stint at the crease to leave India looking down the barrel. The rest of the tail folded soon to gift the home side a twenty-run victory and Kane Richardson a five-wicket haul.
India’s march to the defeat started in the 38th over with the away side at 277/1 and 72 runs away from a victory. The Men in Blue threw away nine wickets for 46 runs in twelve overs playing unnecessary shots with no pressure from the scoring board. After scoring more than seven runs per over in the first thirty overs, India only needed less than a run-a-ball in the last fifteen to register the first victory of the series.
Earlier in the day, Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat first. The Indian bowlers also followed their routine as Warner, who returned from paternity leave, tore into Bhuvneshwar and Umesh. With even the umpires wearing helmets to escape the assault, there was no chance for the away side, who bowled the same way as in the first three ODIs.
However, umpire Richard Kettleborough was not so lucky, as a straight drive from Finch evaded the stumps to hit him the shin. He finally went off the field after few overs only to be replaced by Paul Wilson.
With Dhoni introducing spin, Finch also joined his opening partner in the hammering as the duo looked unstoppable at the crease. To add to the misery of the Indians, Ajinkya Rahane went off the field in the 20th over after trying to stop a powerful drive from Warner. With both openers set for centuries and the hosts heading for a huge score, Dhoni brought back Ishant Sharma into the attack, who troubled the batsmen in his first spell.
It worked almost instantly as Ishant removed the dangerous Warner for 93 off 92 balls with the batsman dragging the ball back on the stumps to end the 187-run opening partnership. However, there was no stopping Finch at the other end as he raced to his seventh ODI hundred off 97 balls. Umesh Yadav brought India some reprieve in the 38th over and removed Finch to put the Aussies at 221/2.
Captain Steve Smith and last match’s hero Glen Maxwell went after the bowling, in the end,
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