Mumbai Indians

Bat first. Check. Post a confident total. Check. Defend the total. Check. Australia ticked all boxes of the plan they created ahead of the third ODI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Today wasn’t our day. There were positives - three-wicket hauls for Hardik Pandya (3/44), Kuldeep Yadav (3/56), and Virat Kohli’s fifty (54). However, Steve Smith and Co. outfoxed us when we couldn’t get the game going in the run chase, particularly with Adam Zampa’s four-wicket spell. 

Hardik Pandya presents ‘A tale of two halves’

Batting first, Australia danced to a confident start with Mitchell Marsh (47) and Travis Head (33) putting on a 68-run stand for the opening wicket. However, Hardik Pandya’s entry saw the tables turn. Brought to bowl the 11th over, Pandya forced Travis Head to play his back-of-a-length ball to Kuldeep Yadav at backward point.

He didn’t stop there - three wickets in 11 balls. He bagged the crucial wickets of the unsettled Steven Smith (0) and Marsh (47) as Australia slipped from 68/0 to 85/3, eventually ending his spell with 3/44 in eight overs.

Kuldeep squeezes his way into the AUS middle order

After Hardik brought in the juice that tickled Australia’s early tumbling, Kuldeep Yadav joined the party with his silky spin bowling. Firstly, Pandya returned the favour by completing the catch of David Warner (23). The following two victims of Kuldeep were Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey. Kuldeep’s match figures read 3/56 in 10 overs.

Aussies post 269 after lower-order’s ‘the late day show’

Sean Abbott and Ashton Agar braced the Indian bowling onslaught to stitch a 42-run partnership for the eighth wicket, aiding the visitors to post 269 in 49 overs. On a pitch that was slowing down and turning by the over, the target was a solid one.

Virat Kohli’s 50 gets India closer to 200

While skipper Rohit Sharma (30), Shubman Gill (37) and KL Rahul (32) put out cameos with their respective 30-plus run knocks, Virat Kohli hit a composed 54 off 72 balls - the 65th fifty of his ODI career. The innings set the tone for India to close on the 200-run mark, but an untimely shot found David Warner, who was waiting at long-off. Could he have been the big game-changer?

Zampa takes the zap out of India’s batting

It was redemption day for Adam Zampa, who went wicketless in the first two games. The spinner grabbed four wickets (4/45), becoming the first visiting spinner to do so against India since Ajantha Mendis (4/73, Ranchi - 2014).

It ended India’s unbeaten run in ODIs at home for over seven years. All good things must end, but that only opens up new opportunities. Paltan, do not worry, the World Cup is still some distance away, and we will back our boys to the tilt!

Match in Brief:

Australia 269 all out (Mitchell Marsh 47, Hardik Pandya 3/44, Kuldeep Yadav 3/56) beat India 248 (Virat Kohli 54, Adam Zampa 4/45) by 21 runs