Australia bowled out for 230.. Shami hits the final nail in the coffin. He cleans up Stanlake and the hosts are rolled over within 50 overs. Bhuvneshwar put India on track with his early strikes before Chahal came into the game. The leggie broke the partnership between Marsh and Khawaja and there was no stopping him. He added Stoinis, Richardson, Handscomb and Zampa to his kitty. Most of the Australian batsmen got starts but none could go past Handscomb’s 58. India have a relatively easy chase on hand.
Chahal = Agarkar: Wicket number six for Chahal and he equals Agarkar’s record for the best bowling figures in Australia.
Five-wicket haul: After being overlooked for the first two ODIs, Chahal returns to pick the second best figures for a spinner (5/40) against Australia in Australia. He deceives Richardson in flight and then pings Handscomb (58) LBW with a quick slider.
FIFTY: Peter Handscomb is making the most of his opportunities. Second fifty in the series for him and this one has come off just 57 balls. Australia’s hopes of reaching a good total ride on him.
WICKET: And Maxwell departs! Quick 26 off 19 he’s added to Australia’s total but Shami gets India another key wicket.Short ball to get the top-edge but credit to Bhuvi for his running forward, diving forward effort.
Chahal vs Maxwell.. right then! Maxwell acing it for now.. three boundaries already, every time Chahal got it wrong he’s been duly punished.
Third one for Chahal: He’s enjoying the turn here. Gets Stoinis this time. Classic leg-spin, turned big and Stoinis, who was looking to defend, gets an edge to Rohit, who takes a smart catch. Five down, Australia.
Make that two! Chahal strikes again! Caught and bowled, kinda tame dismissal and Australia have lost the second set batsmen, in Khawaja, too. what a brilliant over this has turned out to be for the visitors. The tug of war for the series continues… Australia 101/4 after 23.4 overs.
After four economical overs, Jadhav leaks 15 in his fifth. But the good news for Australia is that this third-wicket stand has settled the nerves. And just as I type this.. Marsh’s stumped! Dhoni’s been fumbling behind the stumps today a wee bit, but Kohli assures him Marsh didn’t make his ground. Replays confirm it. The bat was in the air, so Kohli is juat about right. Third success for India. More importantly, the key stand is broken.
WICKET: Lot’s of drama in the middle. Bhuvi first bowls from beside the umpire and Finch pulls away. The umpire calls it a dead bowl even though Bhuvi and Kohli are not convinced. Forced to re-bowl, he traps Finch leg-before with the one that;s swinging back in! India have their second wicket as Finch decides not to review it. Good call!
WICKET! Bhuvi gets Carey caught at second slip. Kohli takes a commendable forward-diving catch and Australia are one-down already. Short pitched delivery, Carey goes on the backfoot but leaves his bat hanging. Edged and taken.
And, we’re back early! Finch on strike, Bhuvi with the ball.
So, we’re hearing the play could start by 8:25am IST. Stay tuned!
Two balls and the decider has already been halted. Covers coming back on!
The covers are off, the players are on the field. Still overcast though. Finch and Carey on the crease, Bhuvi has the ball.
Well, well…
7:44 IST: The covers are on. The start will definitely be delayed now.
Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal
Australia: Aaron Finch, Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake
TOSS: India opt to bowl at overcast MCG. Siraj, Rayudu and Kuldeep miss out – Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav and Chahal are in.
Two changes for Australia too: Stanlake in for Behrendorff and Zampa in for Lyon.
Update: The toss is delayed by 10 minutes (which is a minute away now). Play is likely to start on time.
Source: cricbuzz
