Australia ended their losing streak by defeating India by 66 runs in the third and final ODI on Wednesday. They did, however, lose the series, with India having won the first two one-day internationals. Defending a massive 353, the Aussie bowlers did a brilliant job to take wickets regularly and bowl out India to 286 in 49.4 overs. India, on the other hand, won the three-match ODI series 2-1.

Australia’s decision to bat first yielded them a good result as David Warner and Mitchell Marsh gave their side a solid start, adding 78 runs. Prasidh Krishna made the crucial breakthrough by dismissing Warner (56). But Marsh and Steve Smith took the charge on the Indian bowlers and scored runs freely. Both stitched a fine 137-run partnership for the second wicket. Marsh (96) who batted brilliantly missed out the century by four runs.  

Very soon, Mohammed Siraj removed well settled Smith for 74. Marnus Labuschagne played a fine knock of 72 while Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green did not shine with the bat. Australia finished their innings with a big total of 352/7 in 50 overs.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma started off the chase well by playing some outstanding shots to clear the boundary ropes. India’s decision to open with Washington Sundar did not work well as he managed to score only 18. Maxwell then took an outstanding one-handed reflux catch to send off Rohit (81). Virat Kohli (56) batted sensibly to reach his 66th ODI half-century but failed to convert it into a big score. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul chipped in with 48 and 26 respectively. Ravindra Jadeja’s 35 was not enough for India to reach home.