After the exciting T20I series, the five-match ODI series between India and Australia got kicked off with a nail-biting game. Eventually, it was the hosts, led by Virat Kohli, who won the series opener at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad by six wickets. The Aussies had their moments, but the Men in Blue was just too good and emerged victorious thanks to MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first and could manage to reach a total of 236 in their 50 overs. The Australian skipper, Aaron Finch was nipped out for a duck by Jasprit Bumrah. Marcus Stoinis joined Usman Khawaja in the middle and the duo added 87 for the second wicket. Kedar Jadhav broke the partnership by dismissing Stoinis for 37. Three overs later, Khawaja scored a fifty but became Kuldeep Yadav’s first victim.
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Peter Handscomb was also dismissed by Kuldeep. Glenn Maxwell chipped in with 40 crucial runs in the middle, but Mohammed Shami cut short his knock. Thereafter, Alex Carey and Nathan Coulter-Nile took charge and cobbled together a partnership of 62 runs. Even as Carey remained not out on 36, Coulter-Nile contributed with 28.
Chasing the modest total of 237, India started on a horrendous note as Coulter-Nile pinned Shikhar Dhawan for a golden duck. However, Kohli and Rohit Sharma stitched 76 runs for the second wicket, after which Adam Zampa trapped Kohli plumb in front for 44 runs. Ambati Rayudu smashed a couple of fours and he fell prey to the leg-spinner as well. The onus was then on MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav.
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The duo didn’t allow the pressure to unnerve them. Both mixed caution with aggression and stitched together an unbeaten stand of 141 for the fifth wicket as the Yellow Army haplessly kept looking for a breakthrough. Dhoni notched fourth consecutive fifty against Australia this year and remained not out on 59 from 72 balls. Not to forget Kedar Jadhav’s contribution of 81 from 87 balls with nine boundaries and a six as he received the man of the match award as well.
Here is how Twitter praised India:
Pleasing to eye 😍
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) March 2, 2019
MS Dhoni in ODIs in 2019:
Innings – 6
Runs – 301
NO – 4
HS – 87*
Average – 150.50
SR – 80.26
50s – 4#INDvsAUS— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) March 2, 2019
Kedar has finished it in style. Is going to play a very crucial role in the World Cup. Good win this for India on a wicket which was not very easy to bat.
And always great to see Dhoni with his calmness being there at the end. #IndvAus— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 2, 2019
No betther finish in cricket than MS Dhoni hitting the winning shot for India with his trademark big flourish that sends the ball soaring. #INDvAUS
— Moulin (@Moulinparikh) March 2, 2019
He has his own way of dealing with such situations but Dhoni’s 2019 form is such a pleasant surprise. Well played India, well played MSD and Kedar #IndVsAus
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) March 2, 2019
Dhoni against Australia this year:
51(96)
55* (54)*
87* (114)
59* (72)
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) March 2, 2019
@msdhoni may have played second fiddle to Jadhav, but he’s shown yet again that when it comes to shepherding the side out of difficult situations, he’a still the bossman. Great win! #IndiaOnTop
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 2, 2019
Kedar—what an asset. Bowls crucial overs. Picks big wickets. Finishes games off in style. Really happy to see his constant evolution ☺️👏👏🇮🇳 #IndvAus
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 2, 2019
Dhoni hai toh mumkin hai…..fourth consecutive 50s against Australia. Timed the run-chase to perfection. His kind of total…. #IndvAus
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/IManish311/status/1101874975948984321
Gavaskar : Pressure on MS Dhoni.
Bhogle : Don't think he understands that. #INDvAUS #Dhoni #MSDhoni
— saurabh rai (@im_saurabh_here) March 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/akashyssboddeda/status/1101874924300300288
