Australia's senior quicks cop plenty of punishment as India chase down 287 with 15 balls remaining to win the series 2-1
Match Report:
ScorecardRohit, Kohli punish Aussie stars as India win series
India have ended Australia's hopes of back-to-back ODI series wins in the country with a seven-wicket victory in Bengaluru despite a batting masterclass from Steve Smith.
Smith scored 131 in Australia's 9-286 on Sunday night, before a Rohit Sharma century saw India chase down the target with 15 balls to spare and take the three-match series 2-1.
The Aussies were barely in the contest in the second innings, as Ashton Agar took 1-38 off 10 overs and Adam Zampa 1-44 but the quicks all went for big runs.
Pat Cummins had one of the worst days of his ODI career with 0-64 from seven overs, while Mitchell Starc also went at 7.3 an over.
Josh Hazlewood was more impressive with 1-55 in his first ODI in 14 months.
Image Id: DB7E8BE0208A427A8FDA6D5428231274 Image Caption: Hazlewood copped some punishment late in the innings // AAPBut after Agar dismissed KL Rahul for 19, Rohit and Virat Kohli put on a show.
Sharma notched up his eighth one-day century against Australia to finish on 119 from 128 balls, while Kohli also hit 89 before being bowled by Hazlewood.
Australia were most left to rue a poor end to their own batting innings, where no-one could go with Smith.
The former captain hit 36 from 21 balls in the final 10 overs, while his teammates contributed just 22 from 39 balls in the same period.
Image Id: FB94F8EAEE224B4E912AFF976179CF9E Image Caption: Smith posted his ninth ODI century // AAPAshton Turner scored four from 10 balls, while Agar went at less than a run a ball for his 11no.
Australia's desire to find a way to up the ante was also exemplified when Mitchell Starc was moved up to No.5 and ahead of Alex Carey, Turner and Agar as a pinch hitter in the 32nd over.
The experiment failed as he scored a third-ball duck, but it highlighted the Aussies' concerns in the area after dropping Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis after poor World Cups.
Meanwhile, Smith also had to brush aside a mix up with Aaron Finch, as the Aussie captain was run out for 19 after both mean found themselves at the same end of the pitch.
But while there were issues at the other end, Smith never lost his composure to post his first ODI century in three years.
He played gloriously all around the ground and became the fourth-fastest Australian to 4000 ODI runs along the way before he hold out off Mohammad Shami in the 48th over.
Smith combined in a 127-run stand with Marnus Labuschagne, who again looked busy for his 54 from 64, while Carey hit 35 from 36.
But the target never looked like being enough on a batter-friendly wicket, as India cruised home with regular opener Shikhar Dhawan nursing an injured shoulder.
Image Id: C58CB3D7F4F64E06BB668968D4CA7662 Image Caption: Rohit led the way in India's run chase // AAPIt marks Australia's first loss in a bilateral series since last January, and ended their chances of becoming the first team in a decade to win back-to-back ODI series in India.
Australia XI: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul (wk), Shereyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia Qantas ODI Tour of India 2020
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (vc), Pat Cummins (vc), Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner, Adam Zampa
India squad: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami.
First ODI: Australia win by 10 wickets in Mumbai
Second ODI: India win by 36 runs in Rajkot
Third ODI: India win by seven wickets in Bengaluru