Ind vs Aus 3rd ODI: Khawaja, bowlers star as Australia beat India to stay alive

Ranchi: A maiden ODI century by Usman Khawaja (104) and a brilliant spell with the ball by Adam Zampa (3/70) guided Australia to a 32-run win against India in the third ODI here on Friday.

Despite the win, the series remain in India’s favour 2-1, with two games to spare.

Needing 314 to win, India got off to a horrific start after they lost Shikhar Dhawan (1), Rohit Sharma (14) and Ambati Rayudu (2) within the first 10 overs.

Dhoni managed to score just 26 runs in what would probably be his final game for India in his home ground here, whereas Kedar Jadhav (26) and Vijay Shankar (32) too displayed fighting efforts.

Virat Kohli (123) was the lone centurion for India, but his efforts went in vain as the hosts continued to lose wickets following his dismissal.

Jhye Richardson too enjoyed a good spell after he finished with 3/37 from nine overs.

India 281-9 after 47.5 overs

WICKET! Richardson strikes again, removes Shami for 8 runs.

India 273-8 after 47.1 overs

WICKET! Jadeja departs for 24 as Glenn Maxwell takes a comfortable catch courtesy a wicket by Jhye Richardson.

India 251-7 after 43 overs

WICKET! Nathan Lyon sees off Vijay Shankar for 32 as Jhye Richardson takes the catch at deep mid-wicket.

India 219-6 after 37.3 overs

WICKET! Kohli is bowled by Adam Zampa as Aussies get the big wicket of the centurion, who departs for 123

India 190-5 after 34.5 overs

TON UP! Virat Kohli brings up his 41st ODI century.

India 174-5 after 31.4 overs

WICKET! Adam Zampa traps Kedar Jadhav lbw as the latter departs for 26 runs.

India 108-4 after 23.1 overs

FIFTY! 50th ODI half-century for Kohli, but India have a mountain to climb.

India 86-4 after 19.1 overs

WICKET! Dhoni is clean bowled by Adam Zampa for 26 runs in what could be his final game for India in Ranchi

India 27-3 after 6.2 overs

BOWLED 'EM! Ambati Rayudu is clean bowled by Pat Cummins as India fall into deep trouble.

India 15-2 after 4.3 overs

WICKET! Cummins joins the party as he traps Rohit Sharma leg before wicket. Rohit dismissed for 14.

India 11-1 after 3.3 overs

WICKET! Shikhar Dhawan dismissed for just one run as his poor form continues.

Australia innings

Usman Khawaja’s maiden ODI century and a knock of 93 by Aaron Finch guided Australia to a total of 313-5 in the third ODI against India here on Friday.

The visitors dominated for the most of the match, but four of the five wickets fell in the last 15 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Finch in the 32^nd over after a long wait as the Aussie skipper missed out on what could have been his 12^th ODI century.

Glenn Maxwell, however, fell short of his 17^th ODI fifty, having been run-out by Ravindra Jadeja.

Kuldeep was the pick of the Indian bowlers, finishing his 10-over spell with 3-64.

Shami’s spell read 1/52 from 10 overs.

Australia 263-5 after 43.4 overs

WICKET! Handscomb is dismissed for a duck after he is struck lbw by Kuldeep Yadav.

Australia 263-4 after 43.2 overs

WICKET! Vijay Shankar completes a sharp catch as Kuldeep Yadav completes the dismissal of Shaun Marsh.

Australia 258-3 after 42 overs

WICKET! Maxwell misses out on fifty as he is run-out for 47 by Jadeja.

Australia 239-2 after 38.3 overs

WICKET! Shami bowls a short one as Bumrah takes a good catch at midwicket to see off centurion Khawaja for 104.

Australia 193-1 after 31.5 overs

WICKET! Finch is struck lbw by Kuldeep as India finally get the breakthrough.

Australia 121-0 after 19 overs

FIFTY! Seventh ODI fifty for Usman Khawaja as Aussies show no signs of slowing down their innings.

Australia 103-0 after 16.3 overs

FIFTY! Aaron Finch slams his 19th ODI fifty as the visitors continue to dominate the match.

Toss update

India have won the toss and elected to bowl. The hosts are unchanged for the match.

Here is the lineup for both the teams:

Preview

Virat Kohli-led Team India will look to seal the ODI series against Australia here on Friday when the two teams lock horns for the third match.

A 3-0 lead in the five-match series will be a perfect farewell gift for Ranchi's favourite son, who, in all likelihood, will be seen wearing the India Blues for the last time at his home ground.

There has been a sense of déjà vu every time Dhoni has stepped on to the field in the ongoing series.

It reminded many of Tendulkar's penultimate Test series against Australia in 2013, when the cheer from the stands would amplify with each passing match.

Something similar has been happening at every ground in this series, with the fans possibly beginning to realise that the legend may not be around when India next play at home.

Amidst the emotional side story, the Indian team is grappling with a few teething issues regarding its top-order batting, especially senior opener Shikhar Dhawan's poor form, which has affected India's starts of late.

Despite Dhawan having gone off the boil with only two half-centuries in the last 15 ODIs, India are unlikely to tinker with the winning combination of the first two encounters.

KL Rahul, who is back in form, may have to wait till India clinch the series, but the team management could well try him out at the No. 3 position.

There are no such worries about Indian bowling as they have performed as a unit. The biggest gain in the second game has been Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar performing their combined role of a fifth bowler to perfection.

Shankar's two wickets while bowling the final over will also instil confidence in his captain that in case Hardik Pandya has a breakdown, he has a fallback option in the Tamil Nadu all-rounder.

Squad:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant.

Australia: Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon, Jason Behrendorff.

Match Starts: 1:30 pm.