MELBOURNE: India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal captured the best figures by any bowler in one-day cricket in Australia to restrict the home side to just 230 in the third and deciding game in Melbourne on Friday.
Chahal, playing in his first match in the series after coming in for Test wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, mesmerised the Australians with his six for 42 to set India 231 to win the match and the series.
Chahal shares the record with fellow Indian Ajit Agarkar, who claimed the same figures against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2004.
Only Peter Handscomb showed any appreciable fight for Australia with his 58 off 63 balls before he became one of Chahal’s victims.
It was an underwhelming batting performance by the Australians, who managed just 17 boundaries before they were bowled out with eight balls left.
The scene is set for India to add the ODI series to their historic 2-1 Test series win after Australia won the opening match in Sydney by 34 runs and India levelled with a six-wicket win in Adelaide.
Australia’s openers again failed to get a start and Alex Carey was out in the third over when he got a nick off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and was taken by Virat Kohli at second slip for five.
His partner Aaron Finch followed six overs later again to Kumar trapped leg before wicket for 14.
Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja steadied the innings before Adelaide centurion Marsh was smartly stumped by MS Dhoni off a wide down the leg-side from Chahal for 39.
Khawaja followed three balls later when he got a thick leading edge and offered Chahal a return catch for 34.
Marcus Stoinis lasted 20 balls before he became Chahal’s third victim, caught at slip by Rohit Sharma for 10, leaving Australia rocking at 123 for five in the 30th over.
Glenn Maxwell hit a breezy 26 off 19 balls before Mohammed Shami enticed him to pull with a short-pitched delivery to Kumar sprinting in from the deep to take a diving catch.
Jhye Richardson played against the spin and chipped the ball to short midwicket where Kedar Jadhav took the chance for 16 giving Chahal his fourth wicket.
Handscomb was trapped plumb in front of his stumps by Chahal in the 46th over and Australia’s innings rattled to a quick close.
Adam Zampa charged down the wicket to Chahal and holed out to Vijay Shankar at long-on for eight and Billy Stanlake was bowled by Shami for a duck. — AFP
