Team India secured a win in the last in the final ODI of the three-match series against Australia. Though the hosts had already gained an unassailable lead in the series by winning the first two games, a win was much needed for India to bounce back ahead of the T20s and Tests.
Winning the toss for the first time in this series, Indian captain Virat Kohli elected to bat first. He guided the team from the front with another half-century but it was the 150 runs stand between Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya that guided India to 302 in their 50 overs.
The visitors made four changes in their squad which included Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan, and Kuldeep Yadav coming into the squad. Lead by Jasprit Bumrah who was having a bit of a rough patch this year in the ODIs, India won the game by 13 runs.
Thirsting for a fight from Virat Kohli and his men, Twitterverse didn’t disappoint as the men in blue displayed what was expected of them in this tour down under.
Given that the bowlers were struggling in the series, the team management decided they could use some fresh legs. As a result, T Natarajan made his debut for India and earned a lot of plaudits and appreciation tweets. One of them came from former Australia spin legend, Brad Hogg.
Great to see @Natarajan_91 debut and pick up his first wicket. Another prodigy from Tamil Nadu. Big scalp to. #AUSvIND #Cricket
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) December 2, 2020
India captain Virat Kohli who was the highest run-scorer for them in the second ODI led the charge at the Manuka Oval as well. During his innings of 63 from 78 balls, Kohli went past the 12,000 run mark in ODIs. And he became the fastest to do so in the history of the game, surpassing his idol, Sachin Tendulkar.
Social Distancing 👑#AUSvIND #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/nKHJgBA9Ck
— RCB Trendsâ„¢ (@TrendRCB) December 2, 2020
Former England captain Michael Vaughan also praised the India skipper, placing him at the very top of the ODI pedestal.
Without question @imVkohli is the best ever ODI Batter I have seen … #NoBrainer #AUSvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) December 2, 2020
Hardik Pandya has been sensational for India in this series. Adding to the 90 that he made in Sydney in the first ODI, he took over the wheels in Canberra and scored a sensational 92* off 76 balls. An innings which was bound to make him the darling of Twitterati.
Hardik Pandya played beautifully in this series. BCCI needs to make a Main Tera video for him.
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) December 2, 2020
Alongside Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja was on absolute fire. He scored a 50 ball 66*, dismissed the dangerous Aaron Finch, and took a splendid catch of Cameron Green. Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar had recently said that he wouldn’t have Hardik and Jadeja in his XI for the series. He was trolled by Twitter after the two paired to take India to 302. But nothing was as well directed as Wasim Jaffer’s take on the same.
While we appreciate those who contributed on the field let's not forget the contribution of those working off the field too like my good friend @sanjaymanjrekar 😉 #AusvInd
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 2, 2020
KL Rahul was also the talk of the Twitter town during the third ODI. For the special shoes that he wore at Manuka Oval.
When you wash one shoe with Ujala and other with Tide plus#AUSvsIND pic.twitter.com/8t2DBSRSay
— Rishabh Srivastava (@AskRishabh) December 2, 2020
Bowling had been a big issue for India in the first two games. However, the Indian bowlers were able to get through the Aussie batting, dismissing them for 289. Outsmarting their hosts by being able to score 300 in every game of the series.
well, India did score 300+ more often than Australia in this series #AUSvsIND
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) December 2, 2020
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly also congratulated India on their win, hoping that this win would open gates for India to do well in the T20s and Test series.
Good win for india inspite of series loss..hopefully it will turn things around as it's a long tour ..jadeja and Pandiya can be huge assets to this team in the long run ..plays at difficult positions ..@bcci @JayShah @ThakurArunS
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) December 2, 2020