India vs Australia, 7th ODI: As it happened - James Faulkner's ton in vain as India win by 57 runs to clinch series 3-2

India have won the series 3-2, courtesy a 57-run win against Australia in Bangalore. Catch the match as it happened here: (Scorecard | Commentary)

22:07 (IST): "We have to improve our bowling. We have to do it on a team level. Death bowling we have to improve upon," says Dhoni. So that's it from Bangalore. India win the series and maintain their number one rank in the ICC ODI rankings.

 

22:03 (IST): The man of the moment, however, is humble in his approach to his innings. "I never thought of the 200. My gameplan was very simple. I just wanted to stay there. Keeping wickets in hand was important," says Rohit Sharma.

 

22:01 (IST): "We just didn't have wickets in hand, James Faulkner was outstanding," says Aussie skipper George Bailey. He admits he is proud of the boys and felt they gave India a good fight in the series.

 

21:42 (IST): And that is it! It takes just 2 balls to wrap it up as Clint McKay and James Faulkner depart in quick succession. India win the game by 57 runs and take th4e series 3-2. Australia bowled out for 326.

 

21:28 (IST): A tight over by Jadeja yields 3 run. Danger still lurks for India while James Faulkner is at the crease. (Australia 320/8 in 43 overs; Target: 384)

 

21:21 (IST): Indians getting just a little desperate. The spectre of defeat seems to loom large as Dhoni urges his boys to get the last 2 wickets. A close appeal for a stumping off Jadeja but replays save Clint McKay. (Australia 308/8 in 41 overs; Target: 384)

 

21:10 (IST): Century for Faulkner! His maiden ton and the fastest by an Aussie laced with 11 fours and 5 sixes. (Australia 294/8 in 38.1 overs; Target: 384)

 

21:00 (IST): James Faulkner playing a lone hand as he stands between India and victory. While the asking rate is pretty high, expect some fireworks while he's at the crease. (Australia 271/8 in 37 overs; Target: 384)

 

20:44 (IST): FIFTY! James Faulkner scores his third fifty in ODIs. Australia 240/8 (33 overs)

20:32 (IST): WICKET! Another bites the dust and this time Ravindra Jadeja removes Nathan Coulter-Nile. Coulter-Nile looks to go over the top but hits it straight to long off. Australia 211/8 (30.1 overs)

20:30 (IST): DROPPED! James Faulkner is dropped on 20 by Mohammed Shami off R Ashwin. Australia 211/7 (30 overs)

20:24 (IST): WICKET! Ravindra Jadeja gets rid of Shane Watson. Watson looks to cut Jadeja to third man, gets a thick outside edge which hits MS Dhoni's thigh and flies straight to Mohammed Shami at point. Australia 205/7 (28.2 overs)

20:19 (IST): STAT! So far this match has seen 32 sixes, which is a record in ODIs.

20:00 (IST): Scoring 200 is a wonderful feeling, says Rohit Sharma. (Read more)

19:55 (IST): WICKET! Glenn Maxwell departs after a fiery 22-ball 60-run knock. Maxwell looks to hit Vinay Kumar out of the park but top edges to deep mid wicket and Ravindra Jadeja makes no mistake. Australia 138/6 (22.2 overs). (In Pics: Rohit Sharma's Diwali dhamaka)

19:52 (IST): WICKET! Adam Voges departs after scoring only four runs. Australia 132/5 (22 overs)

19:45 (IST): FIFTY! Glenn Maxwell scores his fifth half-century off 18 balls. He equals an Australian record for fastest fifty. Australia 125/4 (21.2 overs)

19:30 (IST): WICKET! Another one gone. This time R Ashwin strikes and Brad Haddin (40) makes a long way back. Ashwin beats Haddin on flight. Australia 74/4 (16.5 overs)

19:25 (IST): WICKET! George Bailey is out after scoring 4 runs. Bailey plays it to deep square leg and calls for two runs. Yuvraj Singh, the fielder, picks the ball and throws it quickly to Vinay Kumar, who shows good presence of mind to throw it to keeper. And Bailey is found struggling to make his ground. Australia 70/3 (15.2 overs)

19:12 (IST): WICKET! R Ashwin picks the wicket on his first ball. Phillip Hughes flicks it but straight to Yuvraj Singh at mid wicket. Australia 64/2 (12.1 overs)

18:52 (IST): Australia have promoted Brad Haddin to number three position. Shane Watson, who scored a century in the previous match, has injured his hamstring. Indian pacers are keeping things tight and not giving anything away. Australia 37/1 (9 overs)

18:21 (IST): WICKET! Mohammed Shami is on the target straightaway. Shami traps Aaron Finch for five. Australia 7/1 (1.2 overs)

18:18 (IST): Bhuvneshwar Kumar starts proceedings for India. Aaron Finch and Phillip Hughes are the two Australian openers. Australia 6/0 (1 over

17:53 (IST): Rohit Sharma after his knock - Probably the best innings I have ever played. Scoring 200 is a wonderful feeling. I am not looking at the records, I am just hopeful that India wins tonight.

17:50 (IST): That's that! Rohit Sharma's 158-ball 209 powers India to 383/6 in 50 overs against Australia. He hit 12 fours and 16 sixes. He now holds the record for most sixes by a batsman in a ODI innings. Apart from the Rohit, skipper MS Dhoni scored 61 while Shikhar Dhawan smashed 60. 101 runs were scored in last five overs.

17:41 (IST): DOUBLE CENTURY! Rohit Sharma does it in style with a huge six and reaches the landmark off 156 balls.

17:17 (IST): DROPPED! Mahendra Singh Dhoni dropped by Glenn Maxwell for 29 off Clint McKay. India 288/4 (45.2 overs)

17:15 (IST): Rohit Sharma completes 1000 runs ODIs in 2013. He has scored seven fifties and two centuries this year. India 283/4 (45 overs)

17:04 (IST): DROPPED! Rohit Sharma dropped on 120 by Moises Henriques at deep square leg off James Faulkner. India 253/4 (42 overs)

16:47 (IST): Century! Rohit Sharma slams fourth century in the ODIs off 114 balls. His knock is laced with four 4s and six maximums. India 218/4 (37.4 overs)

16:29 (IST): WICKET! Brad Haddin takes a brilliant diving catch behind the stumps to get rid of Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj was looking to play James Faulkner to third man and gets a thick outside edge. India 207/4 (33.5 overs)

16:09 (IST): WICKET! Xavier Doherty gets the breakthrough with Suresh Raina's (28) wicket. He also breaks the 72-run stand. India 185/3 (29.3 overs)

15:59 (IST): Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina have added 56 runs for the third wicket. Shane Watson walks off the field with a muscle pull. India 169/2 (28 overs)

15:40 (IST): FIFTY! Rohit Sharma scores his 20th half-century in ODIs off 71 balls. India 127/2 (23.4 overs)

15:26 (IST): WICKET! Virat Kohli is run out for a duck. Kohli plays it mid on a calls for a single, Rohit Sharma responds late with a no but that proved costly for India. Suresh Raina joins Rohit. India 113/2 (19.4 overs)

15:21 (IST): WICKET! Xavier Doherty gets the first breakthrough as he traps Shikhar Dhawan for 60. This is the first wicket for left-arm spinner Doherty in the series. India 112/1 (19 overs)

15:07 (IST): It has stopped raining and umpires are having a look at the ground. Super soppers are clearing the excess water. Play will resume at 15:15 IST.

14:57 (IST): STAT! Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are involved in over hundred-run opening stand for the sixth time. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly lead the Indian tally with 21 hundred-plus partnerships followed by Sachin and Virender Sehwag - 12 times.

14:50 (IST): Match has been stopped due to rain and the players are asked to leave the field. The entire square is covered. India 107/0 (17 overs)

14:44 (IST): Aaron Finch looks to be in trouble here. He injures his leg while trying to stop a boundary from Shikhar Dhawan, who cuts Glenn Maxwell to the deep extra cover for a boundary. India 103/0 (16 overs)

14:38 (IST): FIFTY! Shikhar Dhawan slams fifth half-century in ODIs off 43 deliveries. His knock is laced with eight fours. India 97/0 (15 overs)

14:16 (IST): Indian openers have looked dominant in the first ten overs of mandatory powerplay. As many as nine fours and one six have been scored. India 64/0 (10 overs)

14:12 (IST): Rohit Sharma, who is playing a bit cautiously, hits pacer James Faulkner for a huge six over extra cover - first six of Indian innings. India 60/0 (9 overs)

13:57 (IST): Shikhar Dhawan is unstoppable at the moment as he once again scores three fours in over over, this time off Nathan Coulter-Nile. India 45/0 (6 overs)

13:49 (IST): Nathan Coulter-Nile to Shikhar Dhawan - top edge but safe. Dhawan looks to pull it but ends up top edging it which falls in no mans land at backward square leg. India 29/0 (4 overs)

13:44 (IST): Rohit Sharma hits Nathan Coulter-Nile for first boundary of Indian innings. Shikhar Dhawan joins him with three consecutive fours off Clint McKay. India 26/0 (3 overs)

13:30 (IST): India openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are out in the middle. Clint McKay opens the bowling attack for Australia.

13:20 (IST): Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami

Australia: Phillip Hughes, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, George Bailey (c), Glenn Maxwell, Adam Voges, Brad Haddin (w), James Faulkner, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty, Nathan Coulter-Nile

13:04 (IST): TOSS! Australia skipper George Bailey opts to bowl against India at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Nathan Coulter-Nile comes in for Mitchell Johnson in Australia's playing XI. India bring back Vinay Kumar in place of Amit Mishra.

12:50 (IST): Weather update: It's bright and sunny at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore with 27 degrees centigrade. Humidity is 62 per cent.

* With two matches washed out, two won by India and two by Australia, the seven-match ODI series between the two teams has been absolutely fascinating. (Recap: Results | Stats) Fans have been treated to unbelievable cricket as twice in the series, scores in excess of 700 were posted. Yet, no one team has managed to gain bragging rights and the see-saw battle between the two boils down to the final ODI at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

* Chinnaswamy Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Team India. The hosts have played Australia here in five ODIs and have won three and lost just one. In fact, the Indian team registered three consecutive wins against the Aussies here between 1989 and 2001 before losing a 2003 ODI. (More about the venue here)

* While both teams have been equally matched so far, the visitors may rue sending Mitchell Johnson back. The pacer was the among fellow bowlers and with seven wickets and an economy of 5.68, ensured a tight grip on the Indian batsmen while most others were being pelted. Johnson though was earlier sent back home to gear up for the Ashes.

* Apart from Johnson, not many bowlers have had a comfortable series. Virat Kohli, for India, has ensured that runs flow like water but he agrees that new ODI rules have made life a whole lot easier for batsmen and a nightmare for the bowlers. (Read full report here)