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The India vs Australia ODI series is tied 2-2, as both teams go into the final and decisive ODI. Despite leading the series 2-0 earlier, India have now lost control of the series after losing two consecutive matches. Australia clinched the 3rd and 4th ODI from the jaws of defeat, by showing some bold performances. Australia showed India that even though they were missing their key players, they could still give any team a challenge and they shouldn't be taken for granted at all.
In the 3rd ODI, it was Usman Khawaja who spread his magic and in the 4th ODI, it was all about Ashton Turner who turned the game on his team's side by switching the gears at the right time. Australia have gone out of their way to level the series and it still remains to be seen that if they can clinch the series without the help of David Warner and Steve Smith, who are set to return.
Australia have already whitewashed India in the shortest format and if they manage to clinch the ODI series too, it would give the Australian's some much-needed confidence ahead of the World Cup. while India would be most disheartened. We will now have a look at the 3 issues India should address ahead of the 5th ODI:
#3 Fielding
Fielding was one of the major reasons why India lost the 4th ODI. When Peter Handscomb departed, the pressure was mounting on the Aussies and the run rate was touching nearly 10, Alex Carey and Ashton Turner, rather than going for boundaries at the time, fed themselves with doubles and triples and when they settled onto the crease, they shifted the gears.
In their match-winning partnership where the duo played 40-odd balls, they ran for 12 doubles in the small ground of Mohali. In the field, the players were quite sluggish as they dropped Turner twice, missed his stumping chance twice and messed up the chance for a runout. If India needs to win the 5th ODI, they have to improve considerably with fielding and its placements, so that they can keep the pressure on the opposition.
#2 Reading the pitch well before the toss
We all will be probably surprised to hear that Virat Kohli won the toss two times in the series, and India lost both of those two matches despite winning the toss. That clearly shows that Kohli is having a tough time to read the pitch and the weather. At the toss in the 4th ODI, it was clear that the pitch will not help the spinners. Still, Kohli played Chahal, who is not of much use on a pace-friendly pitch.
Chahal ended with a wicket but leaked 80 runs in his 10 overs. Jadhav too gave away 44 runs in his 5 overs.
Australia were lucky to lose the toss because Aaron Finch too could not anticipate the dew that night. The dew factor affected the Indian bowlers and they couldn't grip the ball in their hand as they kept leaking runs in the last 10 overs which became a cause for their loss.
Surprisingly, Shankar wasn't given a fair chance to complete his 10 overs as he went for only 29 in his 5 overs.
To taste success in Delhi, Kohli needs to be very careful with his tactics and while reading the pitch and right team selection too.
#1 Breaking middle over partnerships
It was a great disappointment as an Indian fan to find their best bowlers having difficulty to defend a mammoth total of 358, even after picking up two very early wickets. But if you think that the game was changed by Turner, then you are wrong. The turning point of the game was the 192 run partnership between Khawaja and Handscomb.
When Australia were reduced for 12 for 2, Khawaja and Handscomb joined hands to take the game deep. Even the spin duo of Kuldeep and Chahal looked ordinary in front of them.
None of Chahal, Kuldeep, Jadhav or Shankar could create a chance to get the duo out. Bumrah had to be introduced into the attack to break the partnership, and he did so in the second over of his second spell.
Handscomb didn't seem disturbed by the fact that he had lost his partner and he went on to score his maiden ton. When Handscomb and Maxwell departed, it was just the finishing touch Australia needed and it was provided perfectly by Turner and the dew.
The root cause of the loss was the failure of being unable to pick up wickets in the middle overs.
If India wants to win the decider, they have to be more attacking in the middle overs to have an upper hand early in the game. The spin duo needs to be more attentive because the visitors didn't seem to have any difficulty tackling them.
