Australia pull off unlikely victory over India in Chennai, claim ODI series 2-1

Australia have managed to come away with an unlikely 21-run win over India in Chennai to capture their three-match ODI series 2-1 thanks to a 4-for-45 effort courtesy of leg-spinner Adam Zampa.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat, sending Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh out to open.

Head and Marsh enjoyed a strong start, hitting 61 runs off the first 11 overs without a loss, however, wickets began to tumble soon after.

A mistimed cut saw Head caught by Kuldeep Yadav off the bowling of Hardik Pandya for 33 off 31 before Pandya struck again moments later dismissing Australian captain Steve Smith for a third-ball duck.

Marsh lasted just two more overs before Pandya knocked him over for 47 off 47 for his third.

David Warner – batting at four for first time in his ODI career – and Marnus Labuschagne attempted to steady the ship, but their partnership was halted at 40 when Warner skied one off the bowling of Kuldeep for 23 off 31.

Labuschagne was also dismissed by Kuldeep shortly after for 28 off 45.

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Alex Carey and Marcus Stoinis put together a needed 58-run partnership for the Australians before both falling within the space of eight balls.

Bowling allrounders Sean Abbott and Ashton Agar managed a 42-run stand for the eighth wicket which would prove vital for Australia’s chances.

Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa notched a boundary each to end the innings with Australia bowled out for 269 off 49 overs.

Pandya finished with innings-best figures of 3-for-44 whilst Kuldeep had 3-for-56.

Chasing 270 and a series victory, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill got off to a flying start, jumping out to 0-for-65 after the first nine overs.

Abbott snagged Rohit’s wicket in the 10th over before Gill fell off the bowling of Zampa in the 13th over.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul put together a 69-run stand – the largest partnership of the match – and, at 2-for-146, looked poised to go on with things before Rahul picked out Abbott at long-on off the bowling of Zampa to fall for 32 off 50.

Test hero Axar Patel was dismissed for just two after a mix-up with Kohli allowed Smith to run him out via a wild, backwards underarm which found a diving Carey who took the bails off.

Kohli surpassed 50 before chipping an Agar delivery to Warner at deep mid-off to be dismissed for 54 off 72.

Agar knocked over Suryakumar Yadav the very next ball to hand the world’s number-one ranked T20 batter an unbelievable third-consecutive golden duck.

India’s odds began quickly dwindling and the panic set in when Pandya was dismissed by Zampa for 40 off 40.

Australia took the final three wickets in just four overs to bowl the hosts out for 248 and secure a 21-run victory.

Zampa finished with match-best figures of 4-for-45 whilst Agar claimed two wickets of his own.

It marked Australia’s second ODI series win in India from their last three tries and proved an invaluable result heading into the ICC Cricket World Cup in India in October.

Zampa was awarded Player of the Match honours whilst Marsh earnt the Player of the Series nod thanks to his 194 runs across three matches.

Several of Australia’s stars now shift their focus towards the IPL season kicking off later this month before facing India in the World Test Championship at The Oval in June and England in The Ashes shortly after.