Rohit Sharma celebrates after scoring his 14th ODI century
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
India opener Rohit Sharma smashed a scintillating 125 to not only lead his side to a seven-wicket win over Australia in Nagpur, but to the summit of the ODI rankings once again.
India faced a must-win situation when it came the ODI rankings as they had to beat Australia in the fifth ODI and win the series 4-1 if they were to overtake South Africa as the top-ranked ODI team.
Choosing to bat first, Australia got off to an excellent start as openers Aaron Finch and David Warner amassed a 66-run partnership before Finch was caught by Jasprit Bumrah at mid-off off the bowling of Hardik Pandya for 32.
Australia captain Steve Smith only made 16 before he was given out lbw off the bowling of Kedar Jadhav.
Warner ended up making 53 off 62 balls, which included five boundaries, before he was caught by Manish Pandey at long-on off the bowling of Axar Patel.
David Warner’s 17th ODI fifty went in vain
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Peter Handscomb fell shortly after, but Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis stabilised the innings with an 87-run stand before Head was clean bowled by Patel for 42.
Stoinis went on to score 46 before he was trapped lbw off the bowling of Bumrah.
With wicketkeeper Matthew Wade making a quickfire 20, Australia ended up finishing on 242/9 off their 50 overs.
Patel was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Bumrah snapped up two and Pandya, Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Chasing 243 to win, India made a fabulous start to their innings as Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane put together a 124-run partnership, during which both batsmen brought up their half-centuries.
Ajinkya Rahane struck his 23rd half-century in ODI cricket
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
With India in complete control, Australia were in need of a wicket, and it was Nathan Coulter-Nile who delivered it as he trapped Rahane lbw for 61, which came off 74 balls and included seven boundaries.
Rahane opted to review the decision, but replays showed that the ball was pitching in line and going on to clip the bails.
Rohit and captain Virat Kohli kept the runs flowing with a 99-run stand, during which Rohit sailed past his hundred.
In the end, he scored 125 off 109 balls, which included 11 boundaries and five sixes, before he was caught by Coulter-Nile at deep midwicket off the bowling of Adam Zampa.
Three balls later, Zampa removed Kohli, who was caught by Stoinis at long-off for 39.
Despite losing Rohit and Kohli in quick succession, India ended up reaching their target with 43 balls to spare.
Zampa was the most successful bowler with two wickets, while Coulter-Nile claimed one.
Smith was less than impressed with his side’s performance, and said: “Probably around a 300 wicket, I think. Finchy and Davey played really well, and maybe one of our top four needed to go on and make a big score. Disappointing performance, and there’s a few things for us to look at. We just need to get the right balance of the way we want to play and put consistent performances on the board.
“We’ve played some good cricket at times, but we’ve been outplayed and India thoroughly deserved to win. You’ve still got to try and keep a positive frame of mind. We did a few things well in this series – we just need to do them more consistently. We’ve got to let this go pretty quickly, and we have the T20s in six days, and hopefully we can go home with a trophy.”
Kohli was ecstatic to have won the series 4-1, and said: “I thought it was a really convincing series win. We’ve ticked all the boxes. We’ve been put under pressure, and we’ve come back four times to win four games. Lots of positives to come out of this series. I think it’s become second nature to the players [to keep themselves motivated despite already winning the series]. The management has played a role in that as well.
“Bhuvi and Bumrah have been outstanding for us. When Umesh and Shami got their opportunity they were pretty good as well. And those two wrist-spinners in the middle overs, and all the batsmen. Hardik Pandya the biggest example, earning the Man of the Series. Good headache [selection] – you might as well have a few to pick from and take the best 11 possible.”
Rohit was named Man of the Match, and said: “It was just a bit of cramping. Obviously it’s been very hot here. I’ve always kept it very simple. Not to complicate things too much. Since I’ve started opening, I’ve always kept things simple. There are certain areas I still need to work on – I know my strengths and weaknesses and I try to work around that.
“Initially it was tough. They came on to the stumps compared to the first few games, and the wicket wasn’t playing too good either. Once I got my eye in, it was just about rotating and staying ahead of the run rate all the time. I would love to have such a record against all the teams. I’ve always loved playing against this Australian team – they are very competitive, they never give away anything easily.”