Ind beat Aus in 3rd ODI: ‘Rock-Star’ Hardik Pandya hits unbeaten 92 to earn elusive victory for team India: Boosted by Hardik Pandya’s magical knock, team India has registered 13 runs victory over Australia to avoid clean sweep in the series by hosts. Pandya hit an unbeaten 92 off 76 balls and with Jadeja (66 not out off 50 balls), helped India make a stunning recovery after the team struggled for runs for the most part of the innings. Skipper Virat Kohli’s fighting half-century was another knock of significance in the visiting team’s effort.
Pandya who has avoided bowling in the series has been the top scorer for India in the series – having scored 210 runs in his last three outings. Notably, Pandya is aiming to cement his place as a proper batsman in the team and can bowl only when needed or in the big matches – A REAL SOLID NO.6 BATSMAN.
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Ind vs Aus: Hardik showed a lot of clarity, says Manjrekar
Hardik remains a capable batsman at the No. 6 spot for India but the fact that he isn’t bowling at the moment does throw the team balance out of the equation a little. Despite not playing as an all-rounder in the team at present, Hardik did manage to convince Manjrekar that he deserves to hold on to a spot in the team purely on the basis of his batting.
“When you see Hardik Pandya with the kind of ability that he showed today, you’ll be excited as a captain that you have him at No. 6. As an opposition, you’ll be slightly wary of Hardik Pandya at No. 6,” Manjrekar said after the first ODI
“He showed a lot of clarity. He didn’t take a lot of risks against the fast bowler and when the spinners came one, the big game came on.”
“There was clarity and there was sense in the way he batted. I am very impressed. I must confess, I was a little surprised to see this side of Hardik Pandya because I haven’t seen this part in white-ball cricket.”
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India vs Australia 3rd ODI: Pandya-Jadeja stitch record partnership to help India post 302/5
Hardik Pandya played a trademark swashbuckling innings under pressure in the company of Ravindra Jadeja as a late flourish propelled India to 302 for 5 in the third and final ODI against Australia here on Wednesday.
Coming together in the 32nd over, 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.
Notably, Jadeja-Pandya’s partnership is the highest 6th wicket partnership for India against Australia surpassing 123 between S Ramesh and Robin Singh at Colombo SSC in 1999
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.
Except for Kohli, Pandya and Jadeja, other batsmen struggled on a flat track after India opted to bat.
Senior campaigners like Shikhar Dhawan (16) and KL Rahul (5) perished due to poor shot selection while Shreyas Iyer could contribute only 19 runs at the Manuka Oval, which is known for producing big scores.
Kohli, who became the fastest cricketer to score 12000 ODI runs, showed the gumption to take the fight to the opposition camp with a 78-ball 63 which included five hits to the fence.
For Australia, Ashton Agar was the most successful bowler with figures of 2/44.
India made a relatively quiet start as compared to the earlier two matches with just a boundary coming in the first three overs and the opening duo playing out 12 dot balls during this initial period.
Soon, the visitors suffered a jolt in the fifth over with a soft dismissal of Dhawan who came out of his crease only to hit straight to Ashton Agar.
Kohli and Shubman then put together 56 runs from just under 10 overs before the youngster got out LBW in the 16th over while trying to sweep Agar. His 33 came off 39 balls and had three fours and a six.
After Iyer sliced a delivery to Marnus Labuschagne, KL Rahul made a poor shot selection as he tried a sweep shot off Agar only to perish.
Kohli, who was in great touch, pulling, cutting and driving comfortably, was out in the 32nd over after a half-hearted review for a caught-behind by the Australians.
The Ultra-Edge showed a tiny spike and the umpire had to reverse his decision much to the dismay of the Indians.
It was then left to Pandya and Jadeja to take India past the 300-run mark.
Editors pick
