Virat Kohli-led team India beat Australia by 7 wickets yesterday, October 1, to win the One Day international series 4-1. Apart from dropping just a solitary game at Indore, team India managed to tame the visitors that would make the latter introspect on their play as well as the strength of their squad. Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. The pitch was double paced but eased out as the game progressed. Australia set India a target of 243, which looked way below par for a team that thrives when asked to chase. Thanks to Rohit Sharma’s maverick 125, India managed to win the match and the series by 7 wickets. Hardik Pandya bagged a couple of Man of the Match awards and the coveted Man of the Series award for his brilliant all-round display.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, while interacting with the media, Kohli said,
Hardik Pandya is the biggest asset [from the series]. Selection dilemma is always a good headache for me as a captain because its always better to have plenty to pick from and take the best 11 possible. Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar) and (Jasprit) Bumrah have been outstanding for us. When Umesh (Yadav) and (Mohammad) Shami got their opportunity they were pretty good as well. And those two wrist spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) in the middle overs were too very good. We’ve ticked all the boxes. We have been put under pressure, and we have come back four times to win four games. Lots of positives to come out of this series.
We got many reasons to smile & so does India. Proud feeling! __ pic.twitter.com/ymp6JW7MiA
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) October 1, 2017
“The management has played a role in that as well. I think it’s become second nature to the players (to keep themselves motivated despite already winning the series),” the Indian skipper added.
Smith said Australia were 50 runs short of what could have been a winning score on this wicket. “Probably around a 300 wicket, I think. Finchy (Aaron Finch) and Davey (David Warner) played really well, and maybe one of our top four needed to go on and make a big score,” he said.
The Tigers and the Kangaroos will now play a 3-match T20I series starting from October 7.
