India vs Australia, 6th ODI highlights: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan tons help India draw series level 2-2

After two wash-outs India and Australia battled in a must-win game for the hosts, which they won by 6 wickets courtesy swashbuckling centuries by Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. Follow all the highlights here: (Match Scorecard | Text Commentary | Match pics)

 

FACTOID: Virat Kohli has now made 11 hundreds while chasing in ODIs. India won on all 11 occasions. Only Sachin Tendulkar (14) has more centuries in successful run chases. Sanath Jayasuriya and Saeed Anwar have 9 each.

Quotes from the presentation

 

George Bailey after loss: "We can always do things differently. We fought our way back. But when batsmen are batting like that, not much you can do."

 

MS Dhoni after the win: "We need to sit and see where is the game going with 350 not being safe. It's getting difficult for the bowlers. Australia were attacking with reverse swing but Kohli made it look easy and took pressure off me. Bangalore (the venue for next game) is another batting beauty. I don't know what will happen there."

 

Virat Kohli after the match: "I told Shikhar to bat through and decided to take a few chances. Once he got out, I took over and it was important to finish the game. Plan was to play out Mitchell Johnson, we knew he was going for wickets. I always plan my game. It will be good game in Bengaluru."

 

Rohit Sharma after the match: "It was a little difficult wicket to bat on, but we were positive in mind. Me and Shikhar gel well together, both on and off the field. He was hitting it very well so I played second fiddle."

21:20 (IST) Dhoni the ultimate finisher, does it again for India. After hitting a four on the second ball, Dhoni drills it towards extra cover, who parries it and Dhoni takes two runs to finish things off. India (351/4 in 49.3 overs) snatch romp to a 6-wicket win. Kohli is unbeaten on 115 from 66 balls. Dhoni 25* off 23 balls.

21:11 (IST) Virat Kohli smashes his 17th ODI century, in just 61 balls, the third fastest by an Indian. India 331/4, need 20 runs from 12 balls.

21:05 (IST) Mitchell Johnson bowls out with figures of 10-0-72-2. India 316, need 35 from 18 balls.

20:54 (IST) Kohli flicks Shane Watson for four past fine-leg as India's 300 is up. India 300/4 after 44 overs, need 51 from 36 balls.

20:45 (IST) WICKETS: Mitchell Johnson gets rid of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh in space of four balls. First, Raina goes for a half-hook and is given out caught behind, then Yuvraj Singh is castled for zero as Johnson gets one to nip back in. India 291/4, need 60 more from 42 balls.

20:31 (IST) Kohli smashes three consecutive fours off Mitchell Johnson. India 282/2, need 69 from 54 balls.

20:21 (IST) FACTOID: Virat Kohli becomes the first batsman to hit five or more consecutive 50s twice in ODIs.

20:16 (IST) Virat Kohli reaches his fifty, his 27th in ODIs, off just 31 balls. India 255/2 after 38 overs, chasing 351. Kohli has already hit 8 fours and a six.

20:10 (IST) WICKET! Shikhar Dhawan is gone, after reaching his fourth ODI ton. James Faulkner cleaned him up as Dhawan made 100 off 102 balls. India  234/2 after 36 overs, chasing 351.

19:55 (IST) Kohli looks in terrific form as he flicks Faulkner past long-leg for four. India 218/1 after 34, need 133 from 16 overs.

19:45 (IST) SIX! Virat Kohli at it again! Continues his brilliant form from Jaipur. Kohli slog sweeps Doherty for a huge six over deep mid wicket and he is already 29 off 18 balls. India 209/1 after 33 overs, chasing 351. Batting powerplay now being taken - 34th to 38th over.

19:36 (IST) WICKET! Rohit Sharma tries to go for the big hit but mistimes it, only for James Faulkner to come and take the catch. Finch's experiment works for the Aussies. India 179/1 after 30 overs, chasing 351.

19:32 (IST) SIXs! Rohit Sharma goes after Glenn Maxwell and hammers him for back-to-back sixes. India 177/0 after 29 overs, chasing 351.

19:28 (IST) SIX! Rohit Sharma slog sweeps part-timer Aaron Finch for a huge six.

19:20 (IST) Fifty for Rohit Sharma, his 19th in ODIs, comes in 72 balls. This innings now getting similar to the chase in Jaipur. India 148/0 after 26 overs, chasing 351.

19:11 (IST) Brilliant batting by Rohit and Dhawan, using the pace of Mitchell Johnson on this occasion. First, Rohit deliberately slices him fine past third man, then Dhawan just runs a short of length ball past fine third man fence. Next ball, Dhawan drilled Johnson past extra cover. India 134/0 after 23 overs, chasing 351.

19:00 (IST) Rohit and Dhawan now reach a 100-run stand, their fifth in ODIs. India 100/0 after 19 overs.

18:50 (IST) Shikhar Dhawan reaches fifty and in some style, finds the smallest of gaps through point and backward point and gets four. Dhawan reaches his 5th ODI fifty and second vs Australia. India 98/0 after 18 overs, chasing 351.

18:37 (IST) Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi has struck in his 1st over and South Africa are six down at Sharjah. Follow all the live scores and updates here.

18:32 (IST) Another instance of a catch being taken on a free hit, Maxwell pouches Rohit Sharma who tries to clear point off Shane Watson. India 72/0 after 12.4 overs.

18:25 (IST) Dhawan finally gets a four on the off side, courtesy a late cut past vacant third man area. India 64/0 after 11 overs and Xavier Doherty will bowl now.

18:21 (IST) Good over for India as Rohit Sharma hits Clint McKay for two fours and Dhawan too, finds a boundary towards fine-leg. 14 off the over and India are 56/0 after 10 overs.

18:16 (IST) Dropped! Glenn Maxwell drops Shikhar Dhawan at backward-point off Faulkner. India 42/0 after 9 overs.

18:09 (IST) The Aussies have done homework Dhawan. Bailey has kept a deep cover for the left-hander from the start of the innings. The result - no fours for Dhawan on off side after 8 overs. India 39/0 (8 overs, chasing 351.

18:00 (IST) Dhawan gave McKay the charge but missed the ball, only to get hit in 'the box'. That could hurt. However, after a brief medical attention and little bit of stretching, he's up and away to face the next ball. India 31/0 after 6 overs.

17:56 (IST) Rohit Sharma makes room and thrashes Johnson for four over mid-off. India 26/0 after 5 overs, chasing 351.

17:53 (IST) Clint McKay has been difficult to get away. Just 5 of his first two overs.

17:50 (IST) Meanwhile, catch all the updates and scores from the 1st ODI in Sharjah between Pakistan and South Africa here. Saeed Ajmal is on fire as he gets rid of Graeme Smith and Faf du Plessis in quick succession.

17:44 (IST) After hitting Johnson for four past mid-wicket, Dhawan squeezes out a yorker for three runs past forward square leg. India 16/0 (2.3 overs) vs Australia 350/6.

 

17:35 (IST) Mitchell Johnson bowls this one at 152.3 kmph but it's called wide. India 5/0 after 1 over. Clint McKay to operate with the other new ball.

17:30 (IST) Nice start for India in the chase, Rohit Sharma crunches Mitchell Johnson for four through the covers on the very first ball of the chase. India 4/0 after 0.4 overs vs Australia 350/6.

17:10 (IST) Shane Watson during the mid-innings break: "It took me a little while to get going. We have been getting close to 300 each and every game so we are giving ourselves the best chance of winning each game. It was good with George in the middle today. The wicket was a bit slow so I had to try and get into the innings with a few runs under my belt. The ground has a very fast outfield. The two new white balls certainly help with these big scores. Hopefully we put in a better bowling show tonight. We thought it was enough in Jaipur, so we will just do our best to bring this home."

 

17:00 (IST) FACTOID: The 156 by George Bailey today is the 3rd best score by any captain in ODIs vs India. Only Sanath Jayasuriya (189*) and Andrew Strauss (158) scored more the Bailey.

16:48 (IST) Australia finish at 350 for 6 after 50 overs. The last two overs were comparatively better for India with 15 runs coming of them. Adam Voges ends up with 38-ball 44.

16:45 (IST) Jadeja gets rid of George Bailey (156) and Mitchell Johnson (0) to pick up his 100th ODI wicket.

16:35 (IST) George Bailey goes past 150 runs, via a four past extra cover off Amit Mishra. Bailey now records the best score by a Australia skipper in ODIs vs India. He went past Ricky Ponting's 140 not out in 2003 World Cup final.

16:25 (IST) Australia go past 300 now in just the 46th over. With more than 4 overs to go, a 350 is definitely on cards.

16:20 (IST) Another milestone reached by Bailey, this time 1500 ODI runs, via a four down towards long-on off Mohd Shami. Australia 296/4 after 45 overs.

16:15 (IST) Adam Voges getting into the act now as he hits Suresh Raina for a six, his first in the innings. Next over, he short arm pulls Mishra for another six as the fifty partnership between Bailey and Voges is up - 61 runs off 48 balls.

16:07 (IST) George Bailey reaches his second hundred, in 84 balls, with the help of 10 fours and two sixes.

16:00 (IST) FACTOID: George Bailey, who goes past 400 runs in the current series, has become first player to score 1000 runs in 2013.

15:53 (IST) WICKET! Glenn Maxwell is out, caught sharply by Bhuvneshwar kumar on the deep mid wicket fence off R Ashwin. Australia 224/4 after 36 overs.

15:45 (IST) WICKET! Shane Watson is bowled by Mohd Shami after reaching his 9th ODI ton. Australia 213 for 3 after 35 overs.

15:39 (IST) Indian spinners so far have given 142 runs in 22 overs. Australia 201/2 after 34 overs and batting powerplay is being taken (35-39). Still Adam Voges, Glenn Maxwell and Brad Haddin to come.

15:30 (IST) Both Bailey and Watson on the attack now, as each hit a Virat Kohli's slow medium pace for four in the 32nd over. Australia 188/2 after 32 overs.

15:22 (IST) George Bailey continues in his merry ways, reaches a run-a-ball half-century, his 12th in ODIs. He now holds the record for most runs by any captain in all ODI bilateral series. Australia 170 for 2 after 30 overs.

15:15 (IST) Runs galore here for Australia as Watson and Bailey have added 100 runs for this partnership. Australia have scored 52 runs in the last 5 overs. Last over by Ashwin costed 11.

15:05 (IST) Shane Watson reaches a fifty, his 31st in ODIs, in 63 balls. On the other hand, Bailey reaches 350 runs in the series so far, way more than anyone else. Australia 138/2 after 26 overs.

14:55 (IST) George Bailey comes down the track and clears mid-off on two occasions, first over widish extra cover for four, then over straight long off for six - the first of the Australia innings. Fifty of the partnership is also up between Bailey and Shane Watson. Australia 102/2 after 23 overs.

14:50 (IST) FACTOID: Amit Mishra is playing his first one-day international in India. His last ODI outing was the 5-match series against Zimbabwe in Harare and Bulawayo. His 18 wickets in that series is jointly the best wicket haul in a bilateral 5-match ODI series.

14:45 (IST) Amit Mishra into the attack now and he beats the bat straight away against George Bailey. Australia 72/2 after 18 overs.

14:40 (IST) Drama here at Jamtha as Shane Watson is out caught by Rohit Sharma at point off Ravindra Jadeja, but wait a minute. Umpires check for a no-ball and it is indeed a front-foot no-ball, so Watson gets a reprieve. Next-ball, a free hit by Jadeja, has been hit down towards long-on by George Bailey and is caught. So two catches in two balls but none count as wickets. Australia 71/2 (17 overs).

14:35 (IST) Catch all the pics from Sachin Tendulkar's farewell Ranji game at Lahli here.

14:28 (IST) Shane Watson breaks the shackles somewhat and hits a four past third-man off Jadeja. Australia 59/2 after 15 overs.

14:21 (IST) WICKET! Aaron Finch goes for a pre-meditated hoick over mid wicket but misses the completely, is out clean bowled. R Ashwin strikes on his first ball. Australia 46/2 after 12 overs.

14:13 (IST) Interesting, umpire Nigel Long signals no-ball as Suresh Raina was standing on part of pitch at short mid-on. Australia 44/1 after 10 overs.

14:07 (IST) NEWS: India's schedule to play three ODIs and 2 Tests in South Africa has been announced. December 5, 8, 11 will be the three ODIs and December 18-22, 26-30 are the dates of the two Tests.

14:00 (IST) WICKET! Phil Hughes mistimes a pull and is caught by Virat Kohli at square. Bhuvneshwar Kumar draws first blood. Australia 30/1 (6.4 overs)

13:52 (IST) 500 ODI runs for Aaron Finch. He reaches the milestone after hitting Mohd Shami for 3 consecutive fours in the 6th over. Australia 25/0 (6 overs)

13:45 (IST) Mohd Shami seems to have got his rhythm after beating Phil Hughes three times in the fourth over. Australia 11/0 after 4 overs.

13:35 (IST) After a calm first over by Bhuvneshwar, Phil Hughes gets the first boundaries for Australia, off Mohd Shami. First a cover drive through extra cover for four, then a straight push past mid off another four. Australia 9/0 after 2 overs.

13:30 (IST) All in readiness now as Bhuvneshwar Kumar will bowl to Phil Hughes.

13:15 (IST) As players get ready to take the field, here is what former Australia batsman Dean Jones feels about the visitor's performance in the ongoing ODI series (watch video)

13:10 (IST): Playing XIs - India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.

Australia: Aaron Finch, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, George Bailey (c), Adam Voges, Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin (w), James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty.

 

George Bailey at toss: "We were looking to bat first. It has been a while without a game, which was frustrating. It's always good to perform against India.  You can't expect one or two players to perform everytime. We are unchanged for today."


MS Dhoni at toss: "There will be dew later so that's why we'll bowl. The outfield is fast and the wicket is good to bat on that's what makes it a high scoring ground. We will take it one match at a time. Vinay and Jaydev make way for Mishra and Bhuvi."

13:02 (IST) MS Dhoni calls it correctly and India will bowl at Nagpur. Two changes in the Indian XI - Vinay Kumar and Jaydev Unadkat make way for Amit Mishra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Preview

Handicapped by the poor form of some of their key bowlers, India will be under intense pressure as they go into the do-or-die sixth ODI against an upbeat Australia in Nagpur on Wednesday, fully aware that any slip-up at this stage could cost them the series.

The visitors are sitting pretty with a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after the successive wash-outs of the fourth and fifth games of the long series at Ranchi and Cuttack on October 23 and 26.

"From our point of view this is the game we want to win. We don't want to save it for the last game on Sunday (at Bangalore). We want to wrap up with this game. Obviously from their (India's) point of view they need to win to stay alive and from that point pretty crucial for them," said Australian left arm spinner Xavier Doherty in the run-up to the crucial match at the stadium.

The teams (from):

India: MS Dhoni (Capt./wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat and Mohd. Shami.

Australia: George Bailey (Captain), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Callum Ferguson, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Moises Henriques, Phil Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Adam Voges, Shane Watson.

Umpires: Nigel Long and S Ravi

Third umpire: Vineet Kulkarni