Rohit ton hands India series win

cricket third odi

The last time Steven Smith was at the M Chinnaswamy stadium for a one-day international, the crowd didn’t get to simmer in the hype as he lasted all of five deliveries. On Sunday, they were firsthand witness to the genius and thanked him for the show with a standing ovation.

They did have to rise in appreciation on two other occasions, though. Once after Rohit Sharma ended his run-excursion with a marauding 119 and then after Virat Kohli contributed with a 91-ball 89 in yet another successful chase.

The Australian’s, though grateful for Smith’s chanceless 131 in setting a 287-run target, would have preferred the result from close to three years ago. Australia had won that game by 21 runs. On this occasion, they lost the game by seven wickets and the three-match series 2-1. India reached 289 for 3 in 47.3 overs.

Far too easy for the No.2 ranked side in the world! That said, one can’t help but wonder if the game would have assumed the designated role of a ‘thriller’ had Australia decided to field first. The decision to ask India, among the best sides in the world in a chase, to go after a target with the potential for mild dew was one fraught with danger.

Surely enough, Rohit Sharma relegated Smith’s brilliance to a distant memory as he elegantly dismantled Australia’s plotless attack. Rohit ignored the shoulder niggle from a couple of days ago and tuned in as he often has in the last one year to amass a brutally beautiful 119 from 128 balls.

Add this to the 318 runs, including a double-century against the same opposition, he had compiled prior to this encounter at this venue in three games.

At the other end of the spectrum, Kohli’s highest at this stadium in the format was 34 in five innings. He put those numbers to the rest with an initially scratchy but eventually stunning knock. The second-wicket combination yielded 137 runs and effectively killed Finch’s hopes of winning consecutive series in India. Shreyas Iyer only had to add the finishing touches and he did so with a feisty 44 not out.

While credit must go to largely to Rohit and Kohli for ensuring a waltz, it was India’s bowling which set things up in the favour of the hosts, especially when Smith was making them look rather ordinary.

After David Warner’s dismissal to Shami and an absurd Finch run out, Australia needed Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to show tact under duress. The duo delivered with a 127-run partnership. A sprightly Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Labuschagne for 54 after a blinder from Kohli at cover. It was the break in the levee India were looking for.

Smith stuck around, coming up with one sumptuous stroke after the other, including a textbook-defying flick off Navdeep Saini (1/65), to get to his first century in 50-over cricket in exactly three years. But with Shami firing on all cylinders for four wickets and Jasprit Bumrah (0/38) pressing down on the lid, India conceded a mere 63 runs in the second Power Play.

It was now the turn of batsmen to deliver. With Shikhar Dhawan out with a shoulder injury, Rahul opened the innings with Rohit. The local lad didn’t deliver, but his partner ensured the crowd didn’t miss him much.