Virat Kohli clinched the game for India – 6th ODI vs. Australia

India 4-351 (Virat Kohli 115*, Shikhar Dhawan 100, Rohit Sharma 79, Mitchell Johnson 2-72) beat Australia 6-350 (George Bailey 156, Shane Watson 102, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-64) by six wickets.

The run machine of India, Virat Kohli, sparkled with another sizzling ton after a hundred from Shikhar Dhawan as Australia was unable to defend a high score.

The Kangaroos scored 350 for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs and the Blue Shirts thrashed 351 with six wickets in hand and three balls to spare.

Virat Kohli (India) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his magnificent unbeaten innings of 115 off mere 66 balls.

The sixth One Day International of the series was played on Wednesday, October 30, 2013, at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur.

The toss was won by MS Dhoni who invited the visitors to bat first and the openers were gone for 45. Shane Watson and his skipper, George Bailey, got together and went past the hundred runs mark in the 23rd over. The run rate was picked up and Watson reached his fifty two overs later while Bailey followed him in the 29th one.

Virat Kohli - A scintillating match winning ton
Virat Kohli – A scintillating match winning ton

Shane Watson was the most aggressive of the two and powered his 9th ODI century with three back to back fours but lost his wicket for 102 off just 94 balls with 3 lofty sixes and 13 fours. George Bailey continued with his assault and blasted his second ODI ton in the 41st over. He was finally dismissed for 156 from 114 deliveries with 6 towering sixes and 13 fours. Adam Voges remained unbeaten for 44 as Australia managed 6-350 in the required 50 overs.

Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were the most successful bowlers with two wickets each whereas Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami got one each.

Rohit Sharma along with Shikhar Dhawan got off quietly and the latter was dropped at 41 for 19. The duo changed their gears and hit few boundaries in the coming overs while Dhawan got his fifty in the 17th over. Rohit Sharma took his time, attained his half century and the solid opening stand was dislodged at 178 in 29.3 overs when he became the first victim for 79. Virat Kohli joined in next and started punishing the rival bowlers at will.

Shikhar Dhawan dispatched his fourth ODI hundred and was clean bowled by James Faulkner for 100 off 102 with 11 fours. Kohli went past his fifty in no time as the Men in Blue lost two incoming batsmen cheaply and Dhoni appeared in the park next. The hosts required 35 runs to win from the last 18 deliveries as Virat Kohli hit three consecutive fours and completed his 17th ODI ton on just 61 balls. He secured his end for 115 off 66 with 1 six and 18 fours, Dhoni was at the other end at 25 as the Blue Shirts piled up 4-351 in 49.3 overs.

Mitchell Johnson held two wickets whereas James Faulkner and Aaron Finch claimed one each.

India won the thrilling encounter by a good margin of six wickets and the seven match series was levelled at 2-2.


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.