INDIAN CRICKET NEWS: INDIA BEATS AUSTRALIA HANDSOMELY TO WIN THE SERIES 4-1 AND RECLAIMS THE NO.1 ODIs SPOT

SPORTSLIBRO CRICKET â€“ INDIA CRICKET NEWS – CRICKET BUZZ

Rohit Sharma’s century and Axar Patel’s 3/38 helped India beat Australia by seven wickets in the Nagpur ODi to clinch the series 4-1. With this victory, India retained their No.1 spot in ODI rankings after momentary slip.

Kohli, India captain: It feels good. It was a really convincing series win for us. Ticked all boxes. We were put under pressure many times and we came back four times to win four games. Happy with the way the team played. We repeated the way we played against Sri Lanka, proud of that. Shows the quality of the side, regardless of the opposition. It’s become second nature for them (to win games), the management plays a massive part in motivating the players when we need to find motivation after being 3-0 up in the series. We had a chance to retain the No. 1 spot and we ended up doing well. Bhuvi and Bumrah have been outstanding for us, have been a class apart.

Whenever the game has slipped away, they’ve pulled it back nicely. Hardik Pandya has been the biggest positive. Good headaches regarding selection, you don’t mind that. These guys have made it possible by their hard work. That makes my job as a captain very easy.

Huge roars as Hardik Pandya is announced as Man of the Series

Pandya: When I went to bat at No. 4, got a few runs, and the team won the series. There is always a scope of improvement. I’m just focussing on that, working hard on my fitness. Pretty important to keep myself fit. It’s always a pleasure to play against Australia. I was looking forward to this series. Really happy that I got this award, and we won the series.

Rohit Sharma is Man of the Match

Rohit: I guess it was a bit of cramp, the weather has been hot. That’s always been my thing – to keep it simple. And that has worked for me. Certain areas I keep working off the field. Nothing comes easy. I know my strengths and weaknesses. Initially it was tough, the Australians changed their plans. They were much straighter compared to the previous game. I would love to have such a record against all the teams. Love playing against the Australians, they’re competitive and never give anything easily. That probably brings out the best.

Smith, Australia captain: Probably a 300 wicket. One of our top four needed to make a big score. Lost wickets in clumps again. Have a few things to look at to try and improve and gain the consistent performances we’re after. Just need to get the right balance of the way we want to play and get consistent performances. We’ve been outplayed and deserve to lose 4-1. A lot of our players have played a lot of cricket in India, can’t use that as an excuse. Still got to try and keep a positive frame of mind. India are a very good cricket team, they’ve got a very good balance. We have six or so days until the 3-match T20I series. We’d like to go home with a trophy.