
India ride on the backs of Kohli, Dhoni and Karthik to level the series at Adelaide. It seemed to be a tough chase of 299 runs. But it was beautifully shepherded by captain Virat Kohli.
After he got out, it was veteran finisher MS Dhoni and Nidahas Trophy hero Dinesh Karthik, who saw their team home. Both of them showed excellent calmness and exceptional technique.
Australia took the game deep into the last over, but the masters of the finishers ended it in style. Dhoni and Karthik even ran a lot in the death overs to seal the brilliant victory. As a result the series will be decided in the last game on Friday.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan started things nicely, with the latter taking the attack to the opposition. Dhawan crossed the 30-run mark in no time, but threw his wicket to Jason Behrendorff.
Rohit slowly built his innings, but failed to scored big. He scored 43 off 52 balls and got out to Marcus Stoinis. Virat Kohli and number four Ambati Rayadu started taking the team to a comfortable position.
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But Rayudu was not looking entirely comfortable and lost his wicket to part-time bowler Glenn Maxwell. Dhoni walked out when India were 160/3. With a half-century in the previous game, Dhoni quickly got off the blocks.
Dhoni patiently rotated the strike while Kohli shifted gears and smashed Behrendorff out of the park. Moreover the risks paid dividends as Kohli notched his 39th ODI century. However he soon got out at 104, which made the things interesting again.
Australia believed for some time that were in the game. But Dhoni, who was set in the crease, was joined by Dinesh Karthik. Both of them played smart cricket and didn’t get nervous despite the climbing the run-rate.
They took some gutsy decisions which went in their favour and eventually won the game. Dhoni’s finishing skills once again came to the fore and he was ably supported by Karthik.
Australia build innings on Shaun Marsh’s ton
Australia had elected to bat first after winning the toss. They lost Aaron Finch and Alex Carey quickly. But it was Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja who started rebuilding the innings slowly.
Khawaja got run out thanks to Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliance on the field. But Marsh ended up scoring an exceptional ton. Peter Handscomb and Marcus Stoinis helped as Marsh added 52 and 55 runs for the fourth and fifth wicket respectively.
Glenn Maxwell hunted the ball harshly in the last 10 overs. Debutant Mohammed Siraj was at the receiving end mostly. The Kangaroos threatened to go past 300-run mark as they added 94 runs in less than 11 overs.
But pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar varied his pace and started the mini collapse. He ended with four wickets in the game. Australia ended 50 overs with 298 runs on board with the loss of 9 wickets.
Eventually world’s finisher scored an unbeaten 55 off 54 balls to take his team home. Karthik supported him nicely with 25 off just 14 deliveries.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Fantastic run chase by India . Excellent 100 from Virat, he makes it look very easy. Was wonderful to see Dhoni finish of the game beautifully and Dinesh Karthik’s cameo was very very important in the end. The final game should be a cracker.
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 15, 2019
Well done Team India @BCCI congratulations @imVkohli yet again top inn and good to see old touch of @msdhoni coming to the party.That’s the way.. keep up the good work #IndiaVsAus
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 15, 2019
Old habits die hard #Dhoni #AUSvIND
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) January 15, 2019
Couldn't have scripted and executed the chase better. Phenomenal #AusvIndia
— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) January 15, 2019
What a win by India🇮🇳 and what a century.Great knocks by @imvkohli and @msdhoni to make the series 1-1. #AUSvIND
— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) January 15, 2019
MSD polishes off yet another chase. 👏champion stuff. #INDvsAUS
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) January 15, 2019
Kohli sets it up. Dhoni finishes it in style. Crucial runs from DK. Well done, 🇮🇳 #AusvInd https://t.co/EzR1tRSK4v
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 15, 2019
Fantastic win by team India. Last few overs bowled by Bhuvi and top batting by Kohli and Mahi does it for the team #INDvsAUS
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 15, 2019
It’s amazing that in the last ODI game, that many people criticised @msdhoni and he got a rough LBW decision, now with @imVkohli and @DineshKarthik he finishes a great game. Dhoni is a freak. Been saying it for years.
— Dean Jones AM (@ProfDeano) January 15, 2019
Love watching @imvkohli bat. He makes batting look super easy anywhere in the world. Keep it going Virat! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/fx780dsQrH
— Vinod Kambli (@vinodkambli349) January 15, 2019
This Virat bloke is not bad. 9 hundreds in 19 ODIs. Wow!!!!
— Nathan McCullum (@MccullumNathan) January 15, 2019
Just the 9 Tons in his last 19 ODI innings for #Virat … !!!! #🐐
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 15, 2019
Winning a Test, ODI and T20I as Captain in Australia:
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) January 15, 2019
Ricky Ponting
Michael Clarke
Faf du Plessis
VIRAT KOHLI#AUSvIND
When MS Dhoni arrived at the crease, India were slight favourites with WinViz. As he has made a career of doing, he carried India from a strong position into a winning one – and to 1-1 in the series. #AUSvIND
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 15, 2019
MS Dhoni, the epitome of resilience! Another lovely innings in a successful chase. What a player. #AusvInd
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) January 15, 2019
Dhoni haters ko vanakkam.
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) January 15, 2019
ENNA KOZHANDHAIGALA, INDHA AATTAM PODHUMA?! 😍 #Thala #AUSvIND #WhistlePodu 🦁💛
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) January 15, 2019
Rejoice all you #Dhoni haters! You have just got yourselves a long vacation till the World Cup! MSD has proved his worth, stamina, temperament and dependability in this crucial do-or-die game. #INDvsAUS
— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) January 15, 2019