Aaron Finch was an elated captain as Australia registered a convincing 35-run victory over India in the fifth and final ODI Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. By virtue of this win, the visitors also clinched the ODI series 3-2.
Australia were trailing 0-2 in the series after the first two ODIs but they bounced back remarkably to secure the series. It was also Australia’s first ODI series win since January 2017.
"It's unbelievable. The resilience and the fight that we showed was incredible. We've had our backs against the wall for a while now, but I'm really proud of the group for coming back," Finch said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
While it was India’s first ODI series loss at home under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, the win came at the right time for Australia with the World Cup is around the corner.
"It's important to have a balanced side. We need a good balance of attack and defence. You need good batsmanship on these wickets against these really talented guys like Kuldeep, Chahal and Jaddu. Like I said, people have written us off for quite a while now, but the team that we have can win us the series, and they can win us the World Cup. It was a great series all round even though India beat us resoundingly in Nagpur," the Aussie skipper added.
Usman Khawaja finished the ODI series as the highest run-getter with 383 runs including two centuries and the southpaw was rightfully adjudged Man-of-the-Series.
Talking about his performance, Khawaja said: "It's a lot of fun scoring hundreds and even more fun winning games. Very good to come back from 0-2 down, and never easy to beat India at home. Very excited."
He also lauded the entire team for their collective effort that led to Australia’s ODI series win on Indian soil after 10 years.
"I just played depending on the conditions. Our spinners, and our batters adapted really well and at the end of the day, it was a really good team performance. That good partnership in the third game, Finch batted beautifully, there have been tough wickets and high-scoring ones.
"The batters chipped in, the bowling group chipped in, and credit to all the support staff because the atmosphere was really great even after we lost the first two games. We had a lot of fun. Even when we lost the first two games, we had a good vibe in the dressing room," Khawaja asserted.
