Australia will go into the ICC World Cup 2023 with a win under their belt as they defeated India in the third and final ODI which was played in Rajkot on September 27, 2023. India won the series 2-1.
Pat Cummins had won the toss and chose to bat first. David Warner (56) and Mitchell Marsh (96) added 78 runs for the first wicket. Marsh then added 137 runs with Steve Smith (74). Marnus Labuschagne then made 72 runs to propel Australia to 352/7 in 50 overs. For India, Jasprit Bumrah took 3/81 and Kuldeep Yadav took 2 wickets.
In reply, Rohit Sharma played a blinder, scoring 81 in just 56 balls with 6 sixes and 5 fours to his name. He added 74 runs for the first wicket with Washington Sundar who opened the batting for the first time and made 18 runs.
Virat Kohli (56), Shreyas Iyer (48), and KL Rahul (26) all got starts, but couldn’t keep going as the required run-rate needed them to keep scoring at a quick pace. Ravindra Jadeja tried to lessen the margin of defeat with his 35-run knock, but in the end, India was bowled out for 286 runs.
Australia won the match 66 runs with Glenn Maxwell starring with the ball, taking 4/40. This also broke the Kangaroos’ five-match losing streak.
IND v AUS 2023: WATCH- Jasprit Bumrah cleans up Glenn Maxwell with a searing yorker
After the match, India skipper Rohit Sharma shared his thoughts on the series.
“I'm pretty happy, of course, I would like to go all the way along but if I'm hitting like that, I'm happy. In the last 7-8 ODIs we have played well, we have been challenged under different conditions and different teams, I thought we responded to that challenge pretty well. Unfortunately, not the result we wanted today,” Rohit told broadcasters during the post-match presentation.
Then Rohit Sharma talked about fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and the Indian squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023. September 28 is the last date to submit the final 15-member squad for all participating teams.
He said: “I'm pretty happy, more importantly how Bumrah feels body-wise, he has got so much skill, one bad game can happen to anyone. How he feels mentally and body-wise is key for us and that's looking good for us.
When we talk about the 15, we are very clear about what we want. We are not confused; we know where we are headed as a team. It's a team sport and we want everyone to come and play their part - that's how we win championships. It's about looking after the body and trying and stay fresh for the next one and half months.”
India will now have a few days’ rest before they play their first CWC 2023 warm-up game against England in Guwahati on September 30. India will then face Netherlands in their second and final warm-up game on October 3.
India begin their World Cup campaign on October 8 against Australia in Chennai.
