Australian cricketers celebrate with the trophy after winning the one day international series against India in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, March 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Australia achieved many milestones as they won the fifth and final ODI against India at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi by 35 runs, including claiming their first ODI series in two years.
Claiming the series 3-2 against India, this became Australia’s first series win in two years. The last time they won the series was in 2017 against Pakistan at home. This was also their first victory in India since 2009.
The Australian spin trio of Adam Zampa (3/46), Nathan Lyon (1/34) and part-timer Glenn Maxwell (0/34) kept the Indian batsmen on a tight leash. Only Rohit Sharma (56) could score a half-century, which included two reprieves.
Earlier, Usman Khawaja, who struck his second century in three matches, raised 76 with skipper Aaron Finch to give Australia a strong start after the tourists elected to bat. He then stitched a partnership with Peter Handscomb as Australia looked set to cross 300.
It was the first time for the five-time world champions to win a five-match ODI series after being down 2-0. It is only the fifth instance that a team has won a series after being two down. After losing the first two ODIs, Australia stunned India in Ranchi and Mohali.
Meanwhile, Aaron Finch became the first Australia captain in the ongoing decade to win an ODI series in India. Australia last won a bilateral ODI series in India in 2009-10 season when a Ricky Ponting-led visiting side thrashed India 4-2 in a seven-match series. Australia’s last trip to India saw the visitors face a 4-1 defeat in 2017-18.
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