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Hardik, Bumrah pull one back for India
Hardik Pandya
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah found his mojo and the Indian team its winning ways in a morale-lifting 13-run triumph over Australia in the third and final ODI on Wednesday, salvaging some of the lost pride in a 1-2 series defeat.
Canberra: Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah found his mojo and the Indian team its winning ways in a morale-lifting 13-run triumph over Australia in the third and final ODI on Wednesday, salvaging some of the lost pride in a 1-2 series defeat.
An in-form Hardik Pandya blasted 92 not out off 76 balls and Ravindra Jadeja's useful 66 off 50 took India to a healthy 302 for 5 in 50 overs after an inept show in the first 30 overs.
Shardul Thakur (3/51) and debutant Thangarasu Natarajan (2/70 in 10 overs) did their bit but it was Bumrah's (2/43 in 9.3 overs) controlled effort with some swing upfront and the dismissal of a marauding Glenn Maxwell in the nick of time which ultimately turned the match in India's favour.
Bumrah did the most important thing by bowling one in the block-hole that had the dangerous Maxwell (59 off 38 balls) having his own little "brain fade" moment trying to free his arms exposing the stumps.
The 'Big Show' was in a mood to punish the bowlers and all he needed was to see off Bumrah and attack the others as he was doing. The cushion provided by his "senior" helped Natarajan to start bowling his yorkers under pressure and Thakur also chipped in with necessary wickets. The inconsequential match became something of consequence for Virat Kohli and his men as they gear up for the next white-ball series -- three T20 Internationals in less than 48 hours.
India's bowling attack had a different look and it did perform way better compared to the first two games. Natarajan was very steady in his first spell and got his maiden wicket when Marnus Labuschagne (7), in an unfamiliar role as opener, dragged a wide delivery back onto the stumps.
Thakur, replacing a rested Mohammed Shami, was also lucky when Steve Smith (7) tried to tickle one down on the 'fifth leg stump' to be caught by KL Rahul behind the stumps.
Earlier, Pandya and Jadeja stitched 150 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket to change the complexion of the game, which would make no difference to the final score-line as Australia have already sealed it with back-to-back wins in Sydney. It looked like India would barely reach 250 but Pandya and Jadeja made it a different story. The duo took some time to settle down before opening the floodgates of boundaries. They scored 53 runs from the 46th to 48th over. In all, 76 runs came from the last five overs. Pandya's innings had seven fours and one six while Jadeja was at his best, hitting five boundaries and three sixes.
