5th ODI: Rohit slams ton as clinical India thrash Australia by 7 wickets, clinch series 4-1

Nagpur, Oct 1: India continued their dominating performance against Australia in the series and defeated Australia by 7 wickets in the fifth and final ODI in Nagpur and clinched the series 4-1 here on Sunday (October 1).

Match Scorecard

With this win, India reclaimed their position at the top of ICC ODI rankings and displaced South Africa as they lost the top spot after losing the fourth match.

Chasing a target of 243, India overhauled the target in 42.3 overs with the help of a quality ton from Rohit Sharma. The hosts got off to a brisk start as both the openers Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane laid a solid foundation for the hosts in the run chase.

Rohit (125) and Rahane (61) set up the comprehensive win with a 124-run stand, their third century stand in a row, before the former shared a 99-run partnership with captain Virat Kohli (39) to take the team on the cusp of a big victory.

Rohit not only completed his 14 ODI ton over the course of his masterful knock, he also became the ninth Indian to reach the 6000-run mark in ODIs.

Rohit and Rahane dished out an exhibition of sublime stroke-making. On display were the delightful straight drives, crispy cuts and powerful punches off the backfoot.

It was Rahane who pierced the field early on as Rohit took 15 balls to get off the mark. But after his first two scoring shots, which were straight boundaries, there was no stopping him.

He mostly played with the straight bat and his special effort was laced with 10 fours and three sixes including the one he hit to get to his hundred.

Rahane was deeply disappointed to get out in the 23rd over despite his fourth successive fifty. He knew there was a hundred for the taking after all the hard work he put in early on. He got to play all five games in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

After Rahane's dismissal, Rohit and Kohli took the team closer to the finishing line but both perished while trying to clear the fence.

Young Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav were present at the crease to take the team home. Pandey hit the winning runs for the team. With this win, team cemented their position in ICC rankings.

Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey celebrate their team's victory in the 5th ODI.

Earlier, Indian spinners came back strongly in the middle overs after pacers went for runs to restrict Australia to 242/9 in the stipulated 50 overs.

Spinners bowled tightly after the first power-play as Axar Patel and Kedar Jadhav troubled the Australian batsmen with their economical bowling.

Axar was the pick of Indian bowlers as he finished 3/38 from his quota of 10 overs, while Jadhav completed his quota of 10 overs for the first time. The part-time spinner conceded 48 runs and picked up important wicket of Steve Smith.

Kuldeep Yadav, who made a comeback on the side, too finished his 10 overs and conceded just 48 runs, but remained wicketless.

Australia were off to a brisk start in the first power-play as openers David Warner and Aaron Finch gave the visitors a blazing start again. But after losing Finch (32), Warner (53) and Smith (16) in quick succession the Aussies were in some sort of trouble.

But young Travis Head (42) and Marcus Stoinis (46) showed resilience and put up a stand of 87-runs for the fifth wicket and ensured the visitors reach 240-plus on a newly laid Nagpur strip.

Earlier, Australia skipper Steve Smith won his third toss in a row and elected to bat first at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

On a track conducive for batting, Australian openers David Warner and Aaron Finch would be coming out to open the innings for visitors and give another fine start.

Australia have made a change to their playing eleven while Indians have made three changes to their side. Kane Richardson is unwell and James Faulkner has replaced him.

Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal have been replaced by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav for India.