India vs Australia Tri-Series, 5th ODI Highlights: India, Australia Share Points as Rain Plays Spoilsport
India earn their first points of the triseries as rain abandons play at Sydney. Catch all the highlights here.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men now need to beat England on Friday to make it to the fin. Catch all the highlights here: (Scorecard | Highlights | Standings)
14.50 (IST): That's it from the India vs Australia fixture! After playing a bit of hide-and-seek initially, rain soon took centre-stage. The downpour stopped but the umpires have said there cannot be any play today. India have opened their account in the triseries in a rather unconventional manner. As it stands, India (2 points) need to beat England (5 points) to make it to the final. Net Run Rate and Bonus Point are out of the equation.
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14.46 (IST): It's official! Match has been abandoned!
14.25 (IST): Do we still have a match on the cards?
Rain has stopped as of now and the umpires are on the field for inspection. Update on the match soon. #AusvsInd
- BCCI (@BCCI) January 26, 2015
13.50 (IST): Look away cricket fans, the scene is not looking pretty.
Still bad news at the @scg, with the rain still coming down and the covers unmoved! #AUSvIND #AustraliaDay #WWOS pic.twitter.com/6ce6xHHVUq
- Wide World of Sports (@WWOS9) January 26, 2015
13.10 (IST): Looks like we're headed for a washout.
We have got no chance now.. Smashing down #washout #AUSvIND
- Dean Jones (@ProfDeano) January 26, 2015
12.59 (IST): While we wait for the rain to subside, here's what the players are upto indoors.
Cards and a crossword during the rain delay... #AUSvIND #AustraliaDay pic.twitter.com/l7bXKmxsJB
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 26, 2015
12.52 (IST): The rain is still on at SCG. The match was already reduced to 44-overs-a-side. If play does resume at some point in time, there will be definite further reduction in overs. Could we have a 20-20 on the cards if the weather clears up? The waiting game continues.
11.38 (IST): The rain may have halted play but hardly does it dampen spirits. Indian fans have turned up in large numbers at Sydney.
#BleedBlue #HappyRepublicDay pic.twitter.com/aChdgiwErD
- BCCI (@BCCI) January 26, 2015
11.34 (IST): In case you missed it, Warner took a fabulous running catch to end the Rayudu blitz. And boy, did he enjoy that one!
Warner enjoyed that one! LIVE: http://t.co/C2jSvYaLSf #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/TW2IZruxZ0
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 26, 2015
11.30 (IST): It's raining again! The covers are on and the players go off with India on 69/2 in 16 overs.
11.18 (IST): OUT! Rayudu's cameo is over. He goes after Marsh and hits the ball over the in-field but Warner covers good ground to take an excellent running catch. He celebrates a little in front of the Indian fans. India 62/2 (12.5 overs)
11.04 (IST): SCG or Chinnaswamy?
Feel like I'm back in Bangalore with this crowd today!!! Who's the home team?? #scenes #noise pic.twitter.com/G732fsTgHC
- Alyssa Healy (@ahealy77) January 26, 2015
11.02 (IST): SIX! pinch hitter or not, Rayudu is doing a decent job, as of now. He dances down the track to Mitchell Marsh and hits a six. India 41/1 (9 overs)
11.00 (IST): Sanjay Manjrekar doesn't seem to amused with Rayudu at no. 3. He reckons Rayudu is in at no. 3 at "pinch hitter."
10.57 (IST): Rayudu is throwing his bat at everything. Not to great effect though. After several attempts he connects well to get a boundary over mid-wicket. India 30/1 (7.4 overs)
10.52 (IST): It's Ambati Rayudu at No. 3 again. Seems like Virat Kohli has zeroed in on No. 4 spot for the World Cup. Will be interesting to see what happens when Rohit Sharma returns.
10.50 (IST): OUT! Shikhar Dhawan's bad run-of-form continues. He edges a Mitchell Starc delivery to Aaron Finch in the slips. India 24/1 (6.1 overs)
10.43 (IST): Both Dhawan, Rahane will be a bit cautious. They cannot let the break cause a lapse of concentration. India 18/0 in 5 overs
10.32 (IST): News coming in is that play will resume at 10.36 a.m. IST. It will be a 44-overs-a-side fixture.
10.13 (IST): The famous super-sopper was used a little while ago. This game might need a lot more of that now.
© AP
10.10 (IST): More rain and covers are back on.
More rain here at the @scg and the covers go back down. #AUSvIND #AustraliaDay #WWOS pic.twitter.com/iEfnPFKyCm
- Wide World of Sports (@WWOS9) January 26, 2015
10.05 (IST): Not the best piece of news coming in.
This has the feel of a day where the drizzle is going to be frustratingly persistent. #AUSvIND
- Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) January 26, 2015
09.56 (IST): Looks like it's going to be a long day ahead for both teams and the ground staff.
The umpires have called for the covers as we go off again for another rain delay! #AUSvIND #AustraliaDay #WWOS pic.twitter.com/MH8ltvt9uE
- Wide World of Sports (@WWOS9) January 26, 2015
09.49 (IST): It's raining again! Oh dear! The players are going off and the covers are on. It must be frustrating for the players and the fans. The Indian camp, however, may not mind the rain. If this game gets washed out, India and Australia will share two points each. That means India need not worry about winning with a bonus point against England on Friday, if they are to qualify for the final.
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09.41 (IST): Ahead of the toss, Aussie coach Darren Lehmann was seen doing his bit of pitch inspection.
Australia coach @darren_lehmann inspecting the wicket for the first time today #AUSvIND #AustraliaDay pic.twitter.com/Ul1dHIIWzO
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 26, 2015
09.36 (IST): Excellent start from Mitchell Starc. Rahane and Dhawan are happy to take just one run off it. They need to be wary of the left-arm pacer in this overcast conditions. India 1/0 (1 over)
09.34 (IST): Interesting that India are playing three all-rounders in the side - Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Stuart Binny. It's all about trying different combinations ahead of the World Cup.
09.30 (IST): Australia XI: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Doherty, Josh Hazlewood
09.30 (IST): India XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma
09.25 (IST): Australia win toss, opt to bowl vs India. India bring in Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja for Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Australia bring back David Warner.
© AP
09.10 (IST): Some good news finally. Toss expected to happen very soon.
Revised playing conditions #AUSvIND #AustraliaDay pic.twitter.com/wQKpplzTMJ
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 26, 2015
08.47 (IST): Rain is playing a bit of hide-and-seek at Sydney at the moment. This happened a little while ago but the covers are back on. Looks very gloomy at the moment.
Good news! The covers are coming off, the super soaker is in action, and the umps are inspecting the wicket... https://t.co/j5Mqo2H0yH
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) January 26, 2015
08:28 (IST): It has stopped drizzling and covers are coming off.
08:19 (IST): Conditions are overcast at Sydney today and toss has been delayed. January 26 is celebrated as Republic Day in India and it is also Australia Day.
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India lost both their opening encounters against Australia and England and are placed last in the points table. Australia sit pretty at the top of the table after winning all their three matches, while England have won one game. India will have to win both their remaining matches to make it to the final of the series on February 1 in Perth.
It is a good news for India as both pacer Ishant Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have been declared fit for selection. However, Rohit Sharma is still recuperating from his sore hamstring and will continue to sit out.
The ongoing tri-series has been seen as a chance for teams to work out their best World Cup combinations by trying out certain new things. Not fielding their best eleven was one reason why India lost their first two games of the series.
Whether Virat Kohli will continue to bat at number four still remains to be seen. There has been a huge debate over this move from the Indian team management, in argument that the best batsman in the side should bat higher up in the order. Statistically, Kohli has done well at both number three and four. He averages 51.97 at number three, scoring 14 of his 21 ODI hundreds. Kohli averages 61.35 at number four.
Australia, who have already qualified for the final, are likely to rest some key players. George Bailey will be back in-charge of the side after Steve Smith did the job against England on Friday.
Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood have both rejoined the squad in Sydney. Shane Watson is still ruled out due to injury, while Mitchell Marsh has recovered.
Teams
India: MS Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Stuart Binny, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Sharma.
Australia: George Bailey (captain), Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin (wicketkeeper), Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson, Gurinder Sandhu, Moises Henriques, Shaun Marsh.