Chronicle EditorNAGPUR. – Skipper Virat Kohli on Sunday urged India to be “relentless” after they thrashed Australia by seven wickets in the fifth one-day international cricket match, clinching the series 4-1.
Chasing 243 for victory, the hosts rode on opener Rohit Sharma’s 109-ball 125 to achieve their target in 42.5 overs at Nagpur and get back to the top of ODI world rankings table. India, who reached the ODI summit after three straight wins in the series, had slipped behind South Africa following their loss in the fourth game. They were already the top Test team.
“It feels good. It was a really convincing series win for us. Ticked all boxes… We had a chance to retain the No. 1 spot and we ended up doing that,” Kohli said at the presentation. The management also plays a massive part in motivating players after being 3-0 up in the series. But we want to be relentless,” he added.
It was a disciplined bowling effort led by spinner Axar Patel, who claimed three wickets, that set up India’s comfortable victory after restricting the visitors to 242-9. In reply, Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, who made 61, put on a 124-run opening stand to lay a solid foundation in another dominating performance in recent times.
“We repeated the way we played against Sri Lanka (beat them 9-0 across the three formats), proud of that. Shows the quality of the side, regardless of the opposition,” said Kohli. Man of the match Sharma, who opened his account with two successive boundaries after 14 deliveries, was the first to get to his fifty with a double off Marcus Stoinis.
Rahane also got his fourth successive 50-plus score before being trapped lbw by paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile, who ended with 10 wickets in the five matches. – AFP.
Online Reporter