Match began at 1:30 pm at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, after India captain Hardik Pandya won the toss. India chose to bowl first, while Australia got to bat. “We will bowl first as the track is good and dew factor will be there. We feel we will do well in second innings” said Hardik Pandya after India chose to bowl first.
Mohammed Siraj was the one who got first wicket of Travis Head after poor shot selection from Travis. As soon as Siraj got the first wicket, Hardik Pandya rushed and gave a hug to Siraj. However, after the arrival of Mash, Australia began to gain hopes as he continuously scored boundaries. Siraj tried his best to get the wicket of Mash, but he was unsuccessful.
After Siraj, Hardik came for attack. Even after the arrival of Hardik, Mash and Smith continued to score boundaries. Soon Mash and Smith’s partnership scored 50 runs for Australia. However, soon that partnership came to an end after Hardik got the wicket of Steve Smith.
The tense moment between Aussies and Indians continued till 4:45 pm, when it was India’s turn to bat. Mohammad Siraj got three wickets while Mitchell Marsh top scored for Australia, rest including Smith failed to score most runs.
From Australia’s side, Mitchell Marsh was the star. While from India’s side, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were the stars. KL Rahul and Jadeja performed well in today’s match as comparted to their previous matches. Rahul, who recently lost his starting spot to Shubman Gill in the final two Tests against Australia due to a protracted batting slump, played out the hat-trick ball, but Starc removed Gill for 20.
In order to lead India to a five-wicket victory, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja handled the situation well and put up an unbroken 108-run stand for the sixth wicket.
The pair took some time to settle in despite the increasing pressure before accelerating to make sure there were no more mistakes. Rahul made the most of a reprieve after being dropped by Australian captain Steve Smith at 41, playing to his strengths and refusing to hurry the situation.
The patience of the Australian bowlers was tested by Rahul and Jadeja. They struck a few boundaries while collecting singles. With the help of this strategy, India won the three-match series 1-0 after the visiting squad ran out of gas.
