1st ODI
India 309/3 (50.0 ov)
Australia 310/5 (49.2 ov)
Australia won by 5 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)
If this is summer's main course, then Steven Smith and George Bailey wasted no time at all tucking in. A batsmen's battle unfolded between Australia and India at the WACA, with the hosts seeing a 207-run stand between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli before raising it through the match-defining union between Smith and Bailey, worth 242.
Things could have been very different had Bailey been given out caught behind when, sporting a new closed batting stance, he swivelled to pull the debutant Barinder Sran and gloved to MS Dhoni in the fifth over. India's appeal was not altogether convincing, Richard Kettleborough gave the benefit of the doubt, and as Bailey said afterwards: "Would've been interesting to see on DRS, but we're not the team that doesn't want it." Already the series has some spice.
From that point, Bailey and Smith took impressive control to counter the early losses of Aaron Finch and David Warner, both victims of the tall left-armer Sran's decidedly useful opening spell. Bailey, and then Smith, chose to target the spin of R Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja, hitting cleanly and straight, before the captain put on afterburners to take Australia comfortably home.
Rohit's unbeaten 171 - which surpassed Viv Richards' 153* as the highest ODI score against Australia in Australia - added to a growing library of monumental limited-overs innings, confirming his mastery of a format where if he gets through the first few overs he is able to hit through the line of the ball with something like impunity. Kohli provided ideal support after the early loss of Shikhar Dhawan.
India heaped together 61 from the final five overs of the innings, as Rohit cleared the fence three times. Up to that point the hosts appeared to be reasonably happy with events, but as Rohit punished Boland for a trio of missed yorkers by depositing him in the arc between midwicket and mid-on they were forced to re-evaluate the dimensions of the chase that confronted them.
Certainly Finch and Warner appeared to be in something of a hurry, both perishing to Sran when trying to force the pace. Finch was the victim of a superb, reflex return catch, before Warner shovelled to mid-off. After Bailey's first-ball escape, he and Smith did not panic, using their knowledge of how WACA tallies can be gobbled up in later overs provided that at first a partnership is established.
They sat calmly behind the progress India had made until the 18th over, when greater liberties were taken with Ashwin and Jadeja. This reached a crescendo in the 26th over when Bailey then Smith sallied forth to dump Ashwin into the stands; the over cost 19 and forced a double change from Dhoni. From that point the chase always looked well in hand, as Bailey and Smith posted their hundreds.
While Bailey fell for 112, Glenn Maxwell was perhaps too hasty in swinging for the fences and even Smith was pouched at cover with two runs still required from the final over. However, the stand between two of the Australian ODI team's most recent three captains was the decisive episode in the match.
Joel Paris, who lacks the pace of his left-arm forebears, Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc, had found some new-ball swing in his first two overs as an international cricketer. But that was the extent of the questions asked of India's batsmen, before Smith's bowlers were reduced more or less to battening down the hatches and hoping for the best.
Josh Hazlewood bowled tidily for the hosts, and James Faulkner was a welcome recall to the team after his suspension last year for a drink driving offence while playing Twenty20 matches for Lancashire in the northern summer last year. But there was a certain lack of speed to Australia's bowling line-up that allowed Rohit and Kohli to get comfortable.
The hosts had lost Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc from the team that faced India in the World Cup semi-final in March last year, and much was expected of Paris in his first match. His first ball swerved dangerously into Rohit, but the batsman managed to get the toe of his bat onto it, and thereafter was able to find his rhythm.
This was not the case for Shikhar Dhawan, who struggled to pierce the field before hooking at Hazlewood and finding the allrounder Mitchell Marsh at deep-backward square leg. Kohli was quickly moving the scoreboard along, and his ease at the crease rather obscured the fact that this was his first 50 in an ODI against Australia in Australia.
Rohit and Kohli pushed on without offering chances, content to score at around five per over until the start of the final bracket of 10. Rohit's hundred duly arrived, and Kohli's only eluded him when he was well caught by Finch, running around the fence from long-on.
Dhoni promoted himself for a brief, and briefly explosive, cameo of 18, while Boland's desire to bowl at the death was tested by Rohit's ability to clear the boundary - seven times in all in his 163-ball knock. Combined figures of 0 for 127 from 18 overs made it a harsh initiation for Boland and Paris, but they were then able to sit back and watch Bailey and Smith gorge themselves.
2nd ODI
India 308/8
Australia 309/3 (49/50 ov)
Australia won by 7 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)
In the first ODI in Perth, India batted first, Rohit Sharma scored a century, and Australia were set 310 for victory. In the second ODI in Brisbane, India batted first, Rohit Sharma scored a century, and Australia were set 309 for victory. In Perth, Australia won with four balls to spare. In Brisbane, Australia won with six balls to spare. In both cases, and both chases, George Bailey was key. It was expected that the Gabba would serve up something similar to the WACA, but not this similar.
The end result was that Australia have a 2-0 lead and in Melbourne on Sunday they have the chance to wrap a series win with two to play. Perhaps at the MCG the teams will mix things up a bit. Not that everything in Brisbane was the same as Perth. Australia were 2 for 21 in the first game after their openers both fell cheaply; in the second game, Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh put on 145 for the opening stand to set up the chase.
But on neither occasion did India truly make the most of the chance to bat first in good conditions. Harsh as it is to criticise 300-plus scores, in both matches they had such strong platforms that totals in the 350 range seemed feasible. Instead, Rohit's hundreds have both gone in vain. And India's streak of completed games against Australia in Australia without a win now stretches to 10, across all formats.
Once again Australia paced their pursuit to perfection. Never did their required run rate get near eight an over, and for much of the innings it hovered around six. A run a ball is very gettable for a team that can keep wickets in hand, and India's bowlers were unable to create enough chances to prevent Australia from doing that. Not that they grabbed every opportunity; Ishant Sharma dropped a sitter when Marsh was on 19, and a straightforward run-out chance also went begging.
Marsh and Finch continued their strong association at the top of the order, albeit only temporary for the time being while David Warner is on paternity leave. With a five-innings minimum, no Australian ODI opening partnership has a better average than the 75.42 that Marsh and Finch average for their stands. It took a magnificent catch to end the partnership, when Finch on 71 lifted Ravindra Jadeja to long-off and Ajinkya Rahane snared it low to the ground.
Five overs later, Marsh also fell for 71 when his leading edge lobbed up and was caught by Virat Kohli at cover, giving Ishant his first ODI wicket since 2014. But Bailey and Steven Smith had taken the match out of India's hands in Perth, and again they did so in Brisbane. Their 78-run stand steadied Australia's chase and although Smith was bowled by Umesh Yadav for 46, with nearly ten overs remaining, Bailey steered the chase home.
Glenn Maxwell finished on 26 and hit the winning runs, but Bailey's 76 not out from 58 balls was the difference. He lifted his tempo just when Australia needed him to, and brought up his fifty from his 41st delivery by crunching Barinder Sran over long-off for his only six. Bailey's record against India only continues to improve: with a 500-run minimum, nobody in ODI history has a better average against India than Bailey's 95.85.
Rohit holds the same record against Australia: with a 500-run minimum, nobody in ODI history has a better average against Australia than Rohit's 71.93. In his past five innings against Australia, Rohit has scored 209, 138, 34, 171* and now 124. Australia were fortunate that the one failure amongst those innings came in the World Cup semi-final, when he was bowled by Mitchell Johnson.
There is no Johnson now, and an inexperienced attack featuring Joel Paris, Scott Boland, Kane Richardson, John Hastings and James Faulkner struggled to contain Rohit at the Gabba. It was a stroke of luck for Australia that finally ended Rohit's innings, when Rahane's straight drive clipped the fingers of the bowler Faulkner and ricocheted back onto the stumps with Rohit out of his crease, backing up.
The Australians would argue they should have had Rohit on 89, when he the umpire failed to detect an edge behind off Paris, but by then he had already set India's innings up nicely. But this was not simply the Rohit show. As in Perth, Kohli provided strong support with a half-century after opener Shikhar Dhawan fell in single figures, but this time Rahane, who had not been required to bat at the WACA, was the other key man.
Rahane joined Rohit in the 24th over and they combined for a 121-run third-wicket stand that only ended with Rohit's run-out. Rahane fell short of a century himself, caught for 89 off 80 deliveries when he skied a Faulkner slower ball to deep midwicket in the 49th over. It was one of four wickets that fell in the last two overs: Manish Pandey also skied a catch off a Faulkner legcutter for 6, then R Ashwin was caught trying to ramp Hastings in the last over for 1, and Jadeja was run out last ball.
It was a disappointing finish for India, and the last ten overs had brought just 75 runs for the loss of six wickets. It was a period that arguably lost India the match after their strong start. As in the first game, Dhawan fell cheaply - this time he edged behind for 6 to give Paris his first ODI wicket - but again Kohli and Rohit put on an excellent display of rebuilding. Their 125-run stand ticked the score along with ease and little risk; Kohli cruised to his half-century from 60 deliveries.
Australia's bowlers looked about as likely to strike as lightning, and it took an electric throw from Richardson at deep fine leg to break the partnership when Kohli was run out for 59. Rahane proved a more than adequate replacement, and another century stand again was ended by a run out. Rohit struck 11 fours and only two came in front of the wicket, although he also cleared the boundary three times with ease.
His century came up from his 112th delivery - as in Perth, it came in the 37th over of the innings - and India looked well set with 10 overs to go, at 2 for 233. But Rohit was run out, MS Dhoni was caught in the deep for 11 to give Boland his first ODI wicket, and Australia's bowlers used their variations well. By the end of India's innings it looked like Perth all over again, and by the end of Australia's the similarities were even more striking.
3rd ODI
India 295/6
Australia 296/7
Australia win by 3 wickets
In Perth 309 was insufficient, and in Brisbane 308 was inadequate. But for a short while it looked like India's 295 in Melbourne might have been enough to keep this series alive. That was until Glenn Maxwell took it upon himself to bat India out of the match, his 96 steering Australia to a third successive record chase to seal the five-match one-day series with two to play. Though Maxwell fell with one run still required, James Faulkner finished the deal with seven balls to spare.
In the past week, Australia have now set new records for successful ODI pursuits at the WACA, the Gabba, and the MCG. No wonder Steven Smith sent India in when he won the toss. A run a ball holds no fears for his team at the moment. This time it was Virat Kohli's century that set up India's innings, but their bowlers were again unable to restrain Australia. On a pitch that offered some turn, it was a mistake that they left out R Ashwin.
That said, India gave themselves their best chance of the series by having Australia four down inside 30 overs. The heroes from the first two games - Smith and George Bailey - were among those dismissed, along with the openers Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch, and it meant a mountain of work for the allrounders. It turns out Maxwell is quite the mountaineer.
A searing throw from Umesh Yadav in the deep ran out Mitchell Marsh with the help of MS Dhoni's quick hands, and Matthew Wade skied a catch off Ishant Sharma, but James Faulkner was able to help Maxwell put the chase beyond doubt. Australia needed 65 off the last 10 overs with Maxwell and Faulkner at the crease, then 35 off the last seven. Maxwell played some extraordinary shots, including a slap for six over extra cover off Barinder Sran, and was the key man.
Maxwell timed the chase well enough to give himself a chance at a hundred, reaching 96 with one run needed. But he skied a catch next ball and left Faulkner to finish the job. Their partnership of 80 was the biggest of Australia's innings, which was formed of several solid stands, unlike India's innings that was based around two century partnerships and little else.
Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh put on 48 for the opening wicket before Finch was caught behind off Yadav, and Marsh then combined with Smith for 64 to set Australia's chase on its path. Marsh's fifty came up from his 53rd ball, but on 62 he edged behind off Ishant Sharma to give India a sniff. Smith (41) had already been taken at slip when Ravindra Jadeja found some turn, and Bailey had been sharply stumped off Jadeja. But as it turned out, Maxwell was the wicket India really needed.
India came to this match knowing that a run a ball may not be enough to set Australia - it certainly wasn't in the first two matches of this series. And Smith was keen not to change a winning formula, sending India in when he won the toss. The early loss of Rohit Sharma, who scored hundreds at both the WACA and the Gabba, perked Australia up, but Kohli played the anchor role this time with 117 off 117 deliveries.
Kohli worked hard during his 119-run partnership with Shikhar Dhawan and his 109-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane, both of whom made half-centuries. Only 40 of Kohli's runs came in boundaries, seven fours and two sixes, and he was constantly taking off for singles to rotate the strike and ensure things did not stagnate. His fifty came from 51 deliveries and his century from 105, and when he brought it up he leapt in celebration: it was his first ODI hundred against Australia in Australia.
Kohli fell in the 47th over when he drove a John Hastings slower ball straight to cover; Hastings' variations again proved useful for Australia and he finished with a career-best 4 for 58. Dhoni slapped a quick 23 from nine balls in the dying stages but also fell to Hastings, pulling a 140kph bouncer to deep midwicket. Debutant Gurkeerat Singh was bowled for 8 by a Faulkner slower ball, before Jadeja and Rishi Dhawan steered the innings home.
Hastings had also got rid of Rahane for 50 from 55 deliveries, brilliantly caught on the deep midwicket boundary by a combination of Smith and Maxwell. Rahane pulled a short ball and Smith hared around the boundary to make the catch but felt his momentum carrying him over, and threw the ball back inside play for Maxwell to complete the catch. That was one of four wickets in the final six overs; India managed 88 runs in their last 10, fewer than in Perth, more than in Brisbane.
The innings had started with Rohit at the crease fresh from two consecutive ODI hundreds, but this time he failed to reach double figures let alone triple. In the fifth over, Rohit drove at a Kane Richardson delivery and edged behind to Wade, to leave India at 1 for 15. But any hopes Australia had of restricting India through top-order wickets were scuppered by Kohli and Shikhar.
In both of the previous ODIs, Shikhar had fallen in single figures but here he began to find his touch and was especially powerful through the leg side. A straight drive for four off Hastings in the second over of the match was the nearest Shikhar came to scoring an off-side boundary, but he struck nine fours in all and brought up his fifty from his 76th delivery, one ball after Kohli raised his half-century.
But, seemingly aware that India needed to lift their tempo to avoid the kind of stalling that occurred in Perth and Brisbane, Shikhar took it upon himself up the ante. He scooped a boundary over the head of wicketkeeper Wade off Hastings but next ball he again moved into position for a premeditated shot through the on side, and lost his leg stump, bowled for 68 off 91.
Shikhar's idea was right, though, for India had to lift their rate to push beyond 300 this time. Australia proved once again that they are happy to chase a run a ball.
4th ODI
Australia 348/8 (50.0 ov)
India 323 (49.2 ov)
Australia won by 25 runs
In turn imperious then inept, India tripped over in sight of the finish line at Manuka Oval to gift Australia a fourth victory from as many matches. John Hastings and Kane Richardson were the architects of a staggering passage of implosion by the visitors - losing 9 for 46 after centuries from Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan had taken India to a mere 72 runs shy of victory with 75 balls remaining.
Hastings and Richardson claimed a combined 5 for 17 from 27 balls to ensure the afternoon work of Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell was not wasted, on a Manuka surface the Australian captain had hoped would become more difficult to bat on under lights.
For a time Smith was facing Australia's first defeat of the summer and an end to their record streak of ODI wins, but he marshalled his men grandly as India self-destructed. Their loss maintained another proud record for the hosts - never have Australia failed to defend a tally of greater than 300 on home soil.
There was one unsettling factor in India's chase: Ajinkya Rahane suffered split webbing in his right hand when fielding and a spokesman said he would bat "if required". He did not come in at his usual No. 4 position; the resultant shuffling up of MS Dhoni, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Ravindra Jadeja played some part in the hectic collapse that was to follow.
Dhawan had shrugged off an indifferent start to the series by pushing on to a determined century, but it was Kohli who once again exhibited his genius in a run chase. This was his 15th ODI hundred when batting second, and he appeared destined to take India home. When he spooned the first ball of Richardson's ultimately pivotal spell to mid off, Kohli stood motionless at the crease in disbelief.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 10,922 as Canberra pitches for an inaugural Test match next summer, Warner and Finch added 187 to set the perfect platform before Smith and Maxwell added plenty of late-innings pyrotechnics to pile up 111 from the last 10 overs of the innings.
Batting under lights for the first time in the series, Rohit and Dhawan had been faced with the unexpected sight of Nathan Lyon taking the new ball in his first ODI since late 2014. Whatever Smith had hoped to achieve by having Lyon on early, two overs that cost 23 were not in his plan. Those early runs allowed India's chase to gain momentum against the new ball, something hardly scotched when Rohit gloved Richardson down the leg side to be nicely held by Matthew Wade.
Kohli dispatched two boundaries in the space of his first four balls, and five more allowed him to shimmy to his 50 in a mere 34 deliveries. He took a particular liking to James Faulkner, who was hammered for 29 from the 16 balls he delivered to India's Test captain. Dhawan took a similarly heavy toll on Lyon, and when George Bailey's claim for a low catch off Dhawan was found to be unfounded there seemed no other conclusion than an Indian victory.
By the middle of the 38th over India needed just 72 runs from 75 balls with nine wickets standing. But in his last over of another exemplary spell, Hastings was rewarded for keeping things tight: Dhawan sliced a slower ball to backward point, then two balls later MS Dhoni touched a leg cutter behind. The next Lyon over cost only one and Richardson, replacing Hastings, had Kohli caught at mid-off by Steven Smith off the first ball. A pitch and equation that had seemed all too straightforward for set batsmen now began more difficult proportions for new ones, and Smith closed in admirably with tight fields that also sought wickets.
Twice Smith was rewarded with catches at slip, the first an excellent low snaffle to get Rahane, while Lyon's improvement across the night was shown by the fact his final three overs reaped 1 for 15 after his first seven cost 61. India's required run rate blew out, runs became scarce, and by the end the Australians were toasting a victory that had seemed unfathomable merely an hour before.
There had been less such ebbs and flows when the hosts batted. Warner did not take long to find his range on return to the team. He had a sighter - 3 off 12 - before the new white balls began pinging off his bat with regularity. Warner launched Bhuvneshwar for a trio of boundaries in the fourth over and exposed the variable lengths and lines of the visiting attack. Three more balls sent to the fence in the next over, off Umesh Yadav, and the tone of the innings had been set.
It was to be further underlined when Finch and Warner both inflicted injuries on those in the path of their pummelling, the umpire Richard Kettleborough limping off the field after a heavy blow to the leg, before Bhuvneshwar needed treatment for a finger stung by Warner's straight drive.
From this point Warner was in complete command while Finch rode happily in his slipstream, their union only broken when the Australian vice-captain took a big swing at Ishant Sharma and dragged on, for 93. Even in this dismissal a difference between Australia and India could be seen - a looming hundred made no difference to how Warner would play.
There was something a little more hesitant in the batting of Mitchell Marsh, promoted to No. 3 for seemingly no other reason than to grant him some time in the middle now that the series is decided. The responsibility appeared to weigh heavily on Marsh, who battled for timing and also to rotate the strike, even as Finch accelerated to his second century in successive ODI innings on this ground.
Finch's increasing sense of urgency resulted in a skied pull shot well held by Ishant, to bring Smith to the middle with 12.3 overs remaining. The gulf in batting touch between Marsh and Smith was swiftly illustrated as Smith took no time at all to get into stride, one pratfall when trying to sweep Jadeja the lone exception. Marsh eventually mistimed a high ball to long-on, prompting another batting order tweak as Maxwell joined Smith.
Smith skipped to his fifty from 27 balls before falling to another skier. A hustle-and-bustle last four overs reaped 47 even as regular wickets fell and the final over cost 18 before Maxwell was out to the final ball, hobbling from the middle and later being subbed off the field after he was struck on the right knee by the ball. India fancied themselves in the chase, but for many a long year they will ask themselves a simple question: "How?"
5th ODI
Australia 330/7 (50.0 ov)
India 331/4 (49.4 ov)
India win by 6 wickets
Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni, rising star and fading force, combined to deliver India victory over Australia at the last possible opportunity in another run-fest at the SCG. Having crumpled in a humiliating heap in Canberra, the tourists were able to hold their nerve this time, helped by a pair of critical Australian dropped catches.
David Warner and Mitchell Marsh had made centuries for Australia, but the allrounder conceded 13 from the final over of the night to allow the visitors avoid the ignominy of a 5-0 series sweep. It also provided partial vindication of Dhoni's longtime belief in seeing out an innings, even if his steady 34 was a diminished version of supreme closing displays he used to be able to put together for his team. Australia were denied an unbeaten home summer.
Fluent hands from Shikhar Dhawan and the Man-of-the-Series Rohit Sharma had put India in sight of victory though both men fell short of centuries. Dhawan was brilliantly caught by Shaun Marsh at deep point, before Rohit reached 99 only to edge John Hastings behind and be given out by the umpire Paul Wilson after a dramatic pause for the crowd of 33,710.
Pandey, playing his fourth ODI, weathered that moment and pushed on to his highest and best innings for India. His crisp stroke play found plenty of gaps around the SCG and kept the run chase within sight. Dhoni arrived at the fall of Rohit's wicket and after a halting start India's captain gradually found his range in time-honoured fashion.
The pair allowed the equation to leak out to 35 to win from the final three overs, before taking 13 from the 48th over and nine from the 49th. Needing 13 from the final over, Mitchell Marsh gave away a wide first ball, before Dhoni hammered a six over long off. He then perished trying to repeat the shot, but Pandey squirted a boundary past the gloves of Matthew Wade to reach a deserved hundred and put the result beyond doubt.
Heavy rain around Sydney in the lead-up to the match affected the ground staff's preparation, ironically resulting in arguably the fairest surface of the international summer - excepting the grassy, experimental pitch prepared for the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide. Dhoni duly sent the Australians in, and was rewarded with early wickets.
But after the loss of Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, the captain, George Bailey and Shaun Marsh inside the first 22 overs of the afternoon, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh combined for a partnership all the more impressive for the fact that they had to deal with a moving ball for virtually the first time since Adelaide back in November.
Warner's hundred was his second from as many SCG fixtures this summer, and he also made a century against India on this ground in their Test match last January. His momentum built throughout the innings even as he appeared to try to make certain of a hundred after being dismissed for 93 in Canberra. The resultant celebration is now near enough to choreographed, but Warner added a baby-rocking motion in recognition of the recent birth of his second daughter.
Less scripted was the manner of Mitchell Marsh's celebration, having rattled to a maiden international hundred on the same ground where he made his first Sheffield Shield century for Western Australia in 2011. Twice before this summer, Mitchell Marsh had been promoted by Smith in order to grant the allrounder extra time in the middle, and he had looked awkward each time.
This was more the role he has been groomed for, staging a middle-order recovery after early wickets with good judgment and power hitting. There was some drama to Mitchell Marsh's hundredth run - he spent three nervy deliveries on 99, before flicking Ishant through midwicket to reach the milestone from a mere 81 balls. Mitchell Marsh's 82nd struck him amidships, and precious momentum was lost in the final 12 balls.
Those two overs meant India were chasing a target somewhat skinnier than they had faced in Canberra; Dhawan and Rohit began with venomous intent, and for a time there seemed nothing that would stem their momentum. The stand was worth 123 at comfortably better than a run-a-ball when Dhawan lofted John Hastings and was caught by a leaping Shaun Marsh.
Rohit's prolific scoring in this series was completed by another confident hand, which ended only when a baying crowd and tight field placed by Smith had the opener edging behind. Shaun Marsh had dropped a far simpler chance from him the over before. That wicket may have given Australia the momentum to go on to win, but Dhoni's early struggles were reprieved when Nathan Lyon spilled another chance at deep midwicket.
The spin of Lyon and Smith cost 78 from 10 overs, leaving much responsibility on the shoulders of Hastings and Scott Boland. Mitchell Marsh bowled well enough until India's final onslaught, and the all-round skills of Glenn Maxwell, missing due to a knee knock in Canberra, were notable for their absence.
Ishant Sharma had found seam movement in the very first over of the afternoon, fooling Aaron Finch into shouldering arms to a nip-backer that struck him in the vicinity of the off stump. The umpire Richard Kettleborough raised his finger without hesitation, though ball tracking was to show the ball may not quite have been moving back enough.
Smith looked at ease despite his early arrival to the crease, until the introduction of the debutant Jasprit Bumrah who appeared to catch Smith a little off guard. Bumrah generated decent pace from an abbreviated run up and unusual action, and after tying down Smith was able to gain his wicket when a pull shot found Rohit Sharma at midwicket. Bumrah later added the wicket of James Faulkner: his control put other more experienced teammates to shame.
Neither George Bailey nor Shaun Marsh were able to prosper, the former fooled by Dhawan's leg cutter and the latter a run out when Umesh Yadav's return from the outfield rebounded from the knee of Gurkeerat Singh to disturb the bails. At 4 for 117, Australia were teetering, but Warner and Marsh were to recover the innings in some style. They seemed to have done enough, until a mere seven runs from the final two overs of the innings gave India a glimpse.
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