MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav guide India to historic bilateral ODI series win in Australia

India beat Australia by seven wickets in the third ODI at MCG to clinch their first-ever bilateral series win in the 50-over format in Australia. 

MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav guide India to historic bilateral ODI series win in Australia Image Credits: Twitter/@BCCI

After Yuzvendra Chahal bagged a six-wicket haul, wicketkeeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav produced a terrific bating performance to help India clinch a seven-wicket win over Australia in the third and final ODI to seal the three-match series 2-1 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday.

It is India's first-ever bilateral series win against Australia Down Under. 

Chasing a target of 231 runs to win, India lost openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan lowly for nine and 23 runs, respectively. Indian skipper Virat Kohli (46) and Dhoni then combined and shared a 54-run stand for the third wicket. 

After Jhye Richardson dismissed Kohli in the 30th over, Dhoni (87) then joined forces with Kedar Jhadav (61) and stitched an unbeaten partnership of 121 runs to help India cross the mark with four balls to spare. Enroute to sharing a crucial partnership, Dhoni smashed his third consecutive half-century and 70th ODI fifty.

Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal ripped through the Aussies as he claimed the best-ever ODI figures Down Under with 6-42 to bowl out Australia for 230 runs. Peter Handscomb was the highest scorer for the hosts with 58 runs. 

Besides Chahal, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also bagged two wickets each. 

With the win, India have finished  the current 2018-19 tour without having lost a series. The Men in Blue ended the three-match T20I series against Australia in a 1-1 draw before the visitors clinched their first-ever Test series win in Australia. 

Here are the highlights:

MS Dhoni is declared Man of the Series, while Chahal is Player of the Series. 

# India beat Australia by seven wickets, clinch ODI series 2-1.  

# India 234/3 (49.2 overs)

# Jadhav continues to stand strong and provide full support to MS Dhoni from the other hand as he brings up a half-century off 52 balls. He achieves the same by hitting Stoinis for four runs in the last ball of the 47th over. Jadhav has also shared a 104-run unbeaten stand with Dhoni. India 217/3 (48 overs)

# Dhoni has once again been dropped by Aaron Finch at mid off, but there is a run out appeal against Jadhav. However, India narrowly survive a dismissal. The wicketkeeper-batsman then hits a boundary of the very next ball off Stoinis to complete his 80 run. India 212/3 (47.4 overs)

# Richardson is back to bowl his last over of the match!

# Dhoni and Jadhav are playing more freely now as they are looking to help India quickly cross the mark and clinhc their maiden ODI series victory Down Under. India now require 33 runs off 24 balls.India 198/3 (46 overs)

# A beautiful view from the MCG stadium. 

# India 179/3 (44 overs)

# The former Indian skipper survived a dismissal when he was batting at 58. The Australians appealed leg before wicket against Dhoni off Richardson's bowling, but the ball tracking said the ball is going over. India 173/3 (42 overs)

# Dhoni (54) and Jadhav (29) have completed a 50-run partnership as India need just 66 runs from 60 balls to clinch a historic win. Australia, on the other hand, are under a lot of pressure now as they definitely want to avoid ending the tour on a sad note. India 165/3 (40 overs)

# Dhoni brings up his third consecutive fifty in the series off 74 balls. The wicketkeeper-batsman reaches the feat by taking a single off Stanlake's delivery in the last ball of the 37th over. It is his 70th half-century in ODI cricket. India 150/3 (38 overs) 

# Marcus Stoinis replaces Adam Zampa into the Australian attack! 

# India require another 91 runs with seven wickets and 14.1 overs remaining. Dhoni and Jadhav are currently batting at their respective scores of 46 and 13. India 140/3 (36 overs)

# Zampa resumes bowling after drinks! 

# Drinks! 

#  India require a run rate of over six runs and their current rate is under four.  Though Dhoni is looking good at the moment, he has failed to score much boundaries. Kedar Jadhav, on the other hand, is finding it hard to score runs freely. India 129/3 (34 overs)

# India 120/3 (32 overs)

# Kedar Jadhav is the new batsman in for India!

# Intrestingly, Richardson has now dismissed Kohli in all three ODIs.

# Wicket! Richardson has claimed a big wicket of Kohli. The Australians finally manage to break the strong partnership 54-run partnership between Kohli and Dhoni when the Indian skipper got an edge of the bat and handed a simple catch to Carey. India 113/3 (30 overs)
 

# Kohli (43) and Dhoni (34) are standing strong at the crease as they brought up a 50-run stand for the third wicket. The duo reach the milestone when Dhoni tries to hit Siddle's  delivery over mid off, but gets an outside edge and the ball flies over Carey and for a boundary. India 109/2 (22 overs)

Kohli and Dhoni are both looking to pull back singles and then aiming for the odd boundary. The run rate is increasing and the duo should now look to guard against too much complacency. India need 127 runs from 23 overs. India 104/2 (27 overs)

# India 93/2 (25 overs)

# Seven off the last two overs. After a few nervy moments, Kohli and Dhoni are looking settled at the middle. The duo need to bat very carefully and avoid losing a wicket. The hosts require 148 runs from 27 overs. India 83/2 (23 overs)

#  Australia missed another opportunity to run out Dhoni. The former Indian skipper drives this fuller one to extra cover and then he gives a slight indication to take a single. As Kohli takes off, Dhoni backs off. However, India survived a mighty scare. India 76/2 (21 overs)

# India 69/2 (19 overs)

# Australia missed a great chance to dismiss Dhoni in the very next ball after Dhawan's dismissal. Dhoni cuts straight to Maxwell at point and he drops the catch. India 65/2 (18 overs)

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni comes to bat at No.4 !

# Wicket! Stoinis strikes for Australia. Dhawan manages to gently knock a length delivery back towards Stoinis who does extremely well to grab it with both hands. India 59/2 (16.2 overs)

# Kohli smashes Stanlake for two boundaries as India cross the 50-run mark to reduce their target to 180 runs with nine wickets in hand. The Indian skipper and Rohit Sharma are looking strong at the crease and hoping to stitch a good stand between themselves to turn the game completely in their favour. India 51/1 (14 overs)  

# India 43/1 (13 overs)

# Adam Zampa replaces Maxwell into the attack! 

# After Stanlake gave away just a single in the ninth over, Maxwell proved to be a little expensive for Australia as he conceded seven runs in this over. Kohli and Dhawan are playing cautiously and looking for a strong partnership at this point. India  33/1 (11 overs) 

# Richardson has bowled a beautiful tight over, conceding just two runs to the Indians. Dhawan and Kohli both managed to pull back just a run each off this over. India require 206 more runs from 41 overs to win this match. India 25/1 (9 overs)

# India 23/1 (8 overs)

# Skipper Virat Kohli comes to bat at No.3 ! 

# Wicket! Australia have bagged a big wicket in the form of Rohit Sharma. The Indian opener tries to whip the fuller length delivery from Siddle through midwicket, but gets an edge to hand a sharp catch to Shaun Marsh at first slip. Gone for nine. India 15/1 (6 overs)

# Six runs off this over. Rohit clips the ball away easily over square leg to grab three runs before Dhawan drives slightly in the air but in the gap between mid off and cover to get another three for India. The two are playing cautiously. India 10/0 (5 overs)    

# India 4/0 (4 overs)

# India survived a nervy moment when the Australians appealed for leg before wicket against Rohit Sharma. The review showed that the good length delivery hit the back leg, but no bat was involved. India 1/0 (2 overs)

# Peter Siddle will take the new ball !

# Handscomb bowled a tough first over, conceding just a single run to Sharma. India need 230 runs to win their maiden series in Australia. India 1/0 (1 over)

# Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have walked down the crease to begin India's chase. Richardson to begin the proceedings for Australia.

# Innings Break!

# Wicket! That's a wrap of Australia's innings. Shami pitches it full and straight on a leg stump line and Stanlake closes the face against the line and the ball deflects through the bat onto the stumps. Australia 230 (48.4 overs)

# Wicket! Chahal looks on roll today as he has now removed Adam Zampa for six eight runs to scalp a six-wicket haul. The Australian skies one to Shankar at long-on as the hosts are now down to nine wicket. Australia 229/9 (48 overs)

# Wicket! That's a five-wicket haul for Chahal. A big shout for leg before wicket against Handscomb and umpire Blocker Wilson says yes. The Australian go for a review and DRS uphelds the decision. Handscomb, the last recognised batsman, goes for 58. Australia 219/8 (46 overs)

# Adam Zampa is the new batsman in !

# Wicket!  Chahal picks up his fourth wicket of the match. Richardson chips a simple catch to Kedar Jadhav for 16. Australia are now down to seven wickets. Australia 207/7 (44 overs)

# Peter Handscomb brings up his second half-century of the series off just 57 balls. He reaches the milestone by pulling back a single off Chahal's delivery as Australia are approaching towards 200-run mark. Australia 197/6 (42 overs)

# Australia might have lost their six wickets, but Peter Handscomb is standing strong and slowly and steadily moving towards his half century. He is now just two runs short of his ODI fifty. Australia 193/6 (41 overs)

# Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a tight over, not giving the Australians much opportunity to score runs. Handscomb manages to just take a single by playing to the point region. Australia 182/6 (39 overs)

# Shami concedes seven runs in this over by bowling most of the deliveries fuller outside off. While Handscomb picked up four runs, Richardson added three runs to the scoreboard this over. Australia 178/6 (37 overs)

# Australia 171/6 (36 overs)

# Jhye Richardson comes to bat for Australia!

# By dismissing Maxwell, Shami has now completed his 250 international wickets.

# Wicket! India have grabbed a big wicket in the form of Maxwell. The Australian was looking good at the crease and scoring the runs at good pace. After hitting Shami for a boundary in the fourth ball of the over, he once again drove the ball high in the next ball to hand Bhuvneshwar a well-judged catch. Australia 161/6 (34.5 overs)

# Mohammed Shami replaces Ravindra Jadeja into the attack! 

# Australia 153/5 (34 overs)

# India had a great chance to pick another wicket when Handcomb chipped high and Vijay Shankar ran to grab the catch but it was just out of his reach. Australia 135/5 (32 overs)

# Four off the over. Maxwell and Handcomb add two runs each through singles. The Australians look in trouble now after losing five wickets. Australia 128/5 (31 overs)

# Glenn Maxwell is the new batsman in for Australia!

# Wicket! Chahal bowls a brilliant leg spin bowling and it catches the edge of  Stoinis bat as Rohit Sharma dives low to his right at slip to grab the catch. The hosts are now down by five wickets. Australia 122/5 (29.3)

# Five runs off the over. Marcus Stoinis first skips down and drives to Jadeja on the circle at mid on to take a single off Chahal's delivery before notching a boundary from the second ball by beating Jadeja diving to his left. Australia 115/4 (28 overs)

# Australia 109/4 (26 overs)

# Wicket! Another one for Chahal. Khawaja tries to work one to the leg side but ends up handing a simple return catch to the Indian bowler. The Australian batsman departs or 34. The hosts are now in trouble as they are down by four wickets. Australia 101/4 (24 overs)

# Peter Handscomb is the new batsman for Australia!

# Wicket! Yuzvendra Chahal dismisses Shaun Marsh for 29. Chahal bowls it on the stumps and the left-hand batsman rushes down the track, only to see Dhoni collect the ball and hit the stumps. Australia 100/3 (23.2 overs)  

# Australia 92/2 (22 overs)

# Jadhav bowls an expensive over, giving away 15 runs to the Australians. While Marsh hits the Indian bowler for two boundaries, three runs and a single, Khawaja takes two and a single in this over as the Australian duo look to stitch a partnership. Australia 80/2 (20 overs)

# Six runs off the over. Khawaja takes three runs, two of them coming by beating Virat Kohli at leg slip towards fine leg. Marsh also adds three runs, two from wide. Australia  65/2 (19 overs)

# Ravindra Jadeja comes into the attack! 

# Drinks break! 

# Australia finally pull back a boundary after 59 balls. Shankar delivers a short ball and Marsh smashes a pull shot over midwicket to score four runs. The hosts grab six runs this over. Australia 55/2 (17 overs)

# Shankar continues to keep a good line and length. He is not providing any room for easy shots to the two left-handers. Khawaja collects two singles while Marsh finishes the over with one run. Australia 45/2 (15 overs)

# Australia 42/2 (14 overs)

# Kohli has brought in partnership-breaker Jadhav into the attack. He kicks off his over by conceding five singles. The Australians are looking under pressure at the moment and are playing cautiously as they desperately need a partnership now. Australia 37/2 (12 overs)

# Kedar Jadhav comes into the Indian attack! 

# A beautiful tight first over from Shanker in his debut ODI.  He has conceded just two runs in this over as the hosts look to rebuild their innings after losing the openers. Australia 32/2 (11 overs)

# Vijay Shankar replaces Bhuvneshwar Kumar into the attack !

# Australia 30/2 (10 overs)

# Shaun Marsh comes to bat for Australia!

# Wicket! Bhuvneshwar Kumar strikes again. As and when Finch was looking settled at the crease, the Indian bowler delivers an inswinger to dismiss the Australian skipper for 14 runs. Finch comes forward to defend the ball but finds a way to nip in and it hits him on the kneeroll. Australia 27/2 (9 overs)

# Finch smashes Bhuvneshwar for back-to-back boundaries.  Finch first drives the ball through the cover region to score his first boundary. He then gets an outside edge and the ball flies straight to the right of the diving Rohit Sharma at first slip for another boundary. Australia 25/1 (7 overs) 

# Australia 15/1 (6 overs)

# Shami bowls a brilliant third over, giving away just one run to the Australians. The hosts also had a nervy moment when the Indian pacer once again bowls it outside off and Khawaja attempts to waft his bat at the away going bowl and almost gets the edge. The Australians need to play very carefully now after losing opener Carey. Australia 9/1 (4 overs) 

# Usman Khawaja is the new batsman in! 

# Wicket! After missing a good chance to remove Carey in the second over. Bhuvneshwar finally dismissed the southpaw for five. The Indian bowls a beautiful delivery on the off stump and Carey attemps to defend it but takes the outside edge straight to skipper Virat Kohli, who does not miss the chance to grab the ball. Australia 8/1 (2.5 overs)  

# Australia get the first boundary of the match. Shami delivers a short ball outside off and Carey drags the pull through mid-wicket to notch four runs. Australia 5/0 (2 overs)

# Mohammed Shami has been introduced into the attack!

# Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a tight first over as he concedes just one run. In the last delivery of the very first over,  Finch gets an edge behind and it flies towards first slip but falls just short. Australia 1/0 (1 over) 

# Play resumes!

# The play has been interrupted due to rain!

# Openers Aaron Finch and Alex Carey have walked down the crease to open Australia's innings. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will begin the proceedings for India. 

# The start of play has been delayed by ten minutes following a few morning showers. 

# Here are the lineups of the two sides:

# India have won the toss and opted to bowl first !

#  Vijay Shankar has been given his maiden ODI debut cap. He will replace Hardik Pandya, who has been suspended following his sexist comments in a popular talk show. 

# A  few morning showers in Melbourne means the covers are on at the MCG pitch. However, forecast for rest of the day is looking fine. 

After clinching a series-levelling win in  Adelaide, India will look to seal their maiden ODI series victory in Australia when the two sides lock horns in the third and final match of the tour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday.

Earlier, Indian skipper Virat Kohli struck his 39th ODI hundred while wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again proved himself the best finisher by scoring second consecutive fifty as the visitors marched to a six-wicket win over Australia to level the three-match series. Australia won the opening ODI by 34 runs.

Heading into the match, India will look to end their tour to Australia on a high note. The home side, on the other hand, will be keen to clinch the ODI series after earlier handing India their first-ever Test series win Down Under.

Interestingly, it is the Men in Blue's only second bilateral ODI series against Australia Down Under, going down 1-4 against the hosts in 2016 when they last toured the country.

By winning the third and final ODI, India will not only clinch their first-ever series win on Australian soil but also finish  the current 2018-19 tour without having lost a series. The Men in Blue ended the three-match T20I series against Australia in a 1-1 draw.

As far as Playing XI is concerned, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami have been exceptional in the series so far and are most expected to lead the bowling attack at MCG. The Men in Blue are yet to go with Kedar Jadhav and it still looks unlikely that he will be included for the third ODI at the extent of Ravindra Jadeja.

Australia, on the other hand, will be worried about openers Aaron Finch and Alex Carey's lack of runs in the ODIs so far against India.

The hosts have made two changes in their Playing XI.Billy Stanlake has been called in to replace  fast bowler Jason Behrendorff, who has been ruled out with back soreness, while Adam Zampa has been brough in to replace  Nathan Lyon.

The two squads are as follows:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Vijay Shankar.

Australia (Final XI): Aaron Finch (captain), Alex Carey (wk), Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.