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India Vs Australia 5th ODI: Australia seal stunning series win - Who said, what

Usman Khawaja's second ton in a gap of three innings and Adam Zampa's double-wicket-maiden helped Australia complete a historic comeback as they defeated India by 35 runs to claim the five-ODI series 3-2 here on Wednesday (March 13).

India Vs Australia 5th ODI: Australia seal stunning series win - Who said, what

New Delhi, March 13: Usman Khawaja's second ton in a gap of three innings and Adam Zampa's double-wicket-maiden helped Australia complete a historic comeback as they defeated India by 35 runs to claim the five-ODI series 3-2 here on Wednesday (March 13).

Australia lost the opening two games, but Wednesday's triumph rounded off a stunning turnaround and ensured they won a bilateral ODI series of at least five matches from 2-0 down for the first time.

Usman Khawaja's rich vein of form continued with his second ODI century as Australia amassed 272-9 from their 50 overs, the opener's 106-ball 100 key for the tourists as only Peter Handscomb (52) joined him in passing 30.

As it happened</a> | <a href=Highlights" title="As it happened | Highlights" />As it happened | Highlights

India's reply struggled for momentum as Australia's seam attack kept things tight early on, but it was a sensational set of six from Zampa (3-46 from 10 overs) that really damaged the hosts.

Having removed top-scorer Rohit Sharma (56) at the start of the 29th over, Zampa had Ravindra Jadeja stumped three balls later to leave India in deep trouble at 132-6.

Kedar Jadhav (44) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (46) threatened to deny Australia with a 91-run partnership, but Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson removed them in successive balls and India ultimately fell some way short on 237 all out, losing their last wicket to the final ball of the innings.

Here's who said what about India's big defeat:

Australia Captain - Aaron Finch

Australia Captain - Aaron Finch

It's unbelievable. The resilience and the fight that we showed was incredible. We've had our backs against the wall for a while now, but I'm really proud of the group for coming back. It's important to have a balanced side. We need a good balance of attack and defence. You need good batsmanship on these wickets against these really talented guys like Kuldeep, Chahal and Jaddu. Like I said, people have written us off for quite a while now, but the team that we have can win us the series, and they can win us the World Cup. It was a great series all round even though India beat us resoundingly in Nagpur.

Usman Khawaja - Man of the match & Man of the series

Usman Khawaja - Man of the match & Man of the series

It's a lot of fun scoring hundreds and even more winning games. Very good to come back from 0-2 down, and never easy to beat India at home. I just played depending on the conditions. Our spinners and our batters adapted really well and it was a team performance. Finch batted beautifully, there have been tough wickets and high-scoring ones. The batters chipped in, the bowling group chipped in, and credit to all the support staff because the atmosphere was really great even after we lost the first two games.

Justin Langer - Australia Coach

Justin Langer - Australia Coach

All the credit to the players. We just make them prepare for the game but they have to go out there and perform in crunch situations. Incredibly proud of the boys. It is going to be tough to pick the World Cup squad. It has been an unbelievable tide since India arrived in Australia. I have never seen a player like Kohli. They showed character and great fighting spirit. India had the better of us in Australia and we were able to have the better of them here. I think Jhye Richardson and Pat Cummins are forming a great partnership, they can also contribute with the bat. Usman Khawaja also has been fantastic, having not played much of white-ball cricket, in the last 12 months. So credit to him.

Virat Kohli, India captain

Virat Kohli, India captain

On this defeat:

Yeah, we thought it was a gettable target. They got away from us a little bit at the end and 15-20 more than we thought we were going to concede. One or two overs can make a whole lot of a difference, but if you look at the overall series Australia played with more passion, hunger and heart and they deserved to win. They were brave in pressure situations compared to our game, especially in the last 3 games, the way they handled the pressure, they really deserved to win. We didn't even consider the dew in this game, because we can't control that. We can't take any excuses out of this series, we have to do what's in front of us to the best of our abilities and have to live up to the potential we have as a side. It's good that we had such games as we should be good enough to bowl with a wet ball or bat on a slowish sluggish surface.

On WC preparations:

The guys will reflect on the series quite a bit. It's been a long season, and we can be proud of the cricket we have played over the last few months. Both teams played with equal intensity but the deserving side won in the end as I said before. We are more or less sorted with what we want to do. The guys just need to get their roles for the World Cup and expect them to stand up and deliver. Just one spot in the side that needs some discussion. The last three games were all about giving the fringe guys some chances, but that's not an excuse at all. You don't need any motivation for the World Cup. All the sides will enjoy the tournament. Full stadiums. We just want to relive the big moments and do well in the World Cup.

Pat Cummins - Most successful bowler in the series

Pat Cummins - Most successful bowler in the series

Played a bit of ODI cricket before, but I felt I bowled well in the series in Australia and hopefully will continue this form through the World Cup. I would not want to be a selector, it's gonna be a tough job with few guys still to come in. The spinners bowled well and the quicks were incredible as well. The batters have stepped up today. Playing consistent cricket is the key and it's been a good series for us. The biggest challenge playing in India is to adapt to the conditions and it's my first series in India, proud of the boys.

Peter Handscomb

Peter Handscomb

It was my role, to take the game as deep as possible, till the 40th or 45th over without losing too many wickets. Obviously had Uzzie (Khawaja) at the other end and he batted extremely well through the series. Means a lot to come over in India and win a series. To do it now gives us great confidence going towards the World Cup. Something special (to win the series from 0-2 down) to go with our chase the other night (in Mohali). Feels really special to come down here and win the series.

Harsha Bhogle

It is a wonderful achievement by Australia to come back from 0-2 down to win a series. The two teams started from either end of the results spectrum, India on a high and Australia in the dumps, and Australia gained more from this series.

Ayaz Memon

Congrats Australia for winning both T20 & ODI series. Particularly the latter after losing first two matches - a quite remarkable turnaround.

Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra ponders over what questions Team India got answered or remains to be answered.

Vikrant Gupta

India lacked a quality batsman in the middle-order opines cricket expert Vikrant Gupta.

Story first published: Wednesday, March 13, 2019, 22:18 [IST]
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