After getting thrashed in first India vs Australia ODI at Mumbai, India made a strong comeback as they won back to back games to seal the three-match series 2-1 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday. The experienced players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli showed their class in the decider as they were too good against the Australian quicks. It was a much-anticipated series and it turned out to be a fantastic one as it went down to the decider and both the teams were giving it their all.
The series win was a like a revenge for the Indian team as they had been defeated by the Australian side in the 2019 ODI series. There were a lot of positives and only a few negatives from the recently concluded ODI series. So, on that note, let’s have a look at the three takeaways from the India vs Australia ODI series.
3. Navdeep Saini – Upcoming Pace Sensation
Navdeep Saini has forced everybody to look at him after his performance in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia. He picked up three wickets in the two games but more than the numbers it was the way he bowled which impressed one and all.
The right-arm pacer from Delhi bowls quick and has a brilliant yorker in his armory. He got a couple of wickets with his speedy yorker. At this stage, Saini isn’t a finished product but he is definitely one of those who has a bright future. He is an upcoming sensation in the pace department and with Bhuvi and Chahar missing, he will get plenty of opportunities to showcase his skills.
2. Virat Kohli and No.3 are made for each other
In the first ODI which India lost, there was a change in the usual batting order. The world’s best No.3 pushed himself down the order to accommodate KL Rahul at his position. All the three openers played the game with Rahul batting at No.3. Rahul did score some runs in that position but he is no Kohli.
In fact, Virat Kohli’s struggles at No.4 continued as he was dismissed on 16. Nobody was happy with this decision and hence in the next game, Kohli came back to his original position and scored runs heavily. Later on, in the post-match presentation, he mentioned that he coming at No.3 is good for the team.
Virat Kohli is the best batsman in this format and in this series, we saw that Kohli and the No.3 position are made for each other.
1. KL Rahul – The man for a crisis
In this series, Lokesh Rahul was ready to do whatever his team asked him to do. In the first game, he was asked to bat No.3 where he scored 47 runs and not only that but he was also asked to keep wickets because Pant was injured.
In the second game, he was sent down the order at No.5 where he played a fantastic knock with 80 off 58 to his name. He even kept the wickets in that game. In the last game, he was supposed to bat at No.5 but when Shikhar got injured he was asked to open the batting and he did that as well.
The captain Virat Kohli was pretty vocal about how Rahul is open to bat at any position and Kohli even mentioned that Rahul is doing a good job with the gloves so he will be persisted as the wicket-keeper.
In 2003, Rahul Dravid was doing it for India, 17 years later there is another Rahul from the same part of India who is doing the same thing.
