he proud Aussies receive the trophy – an ODI trophy that has been long overdue. Their first one since the Newlands Saga, and one that echos Bradman’s Invincbles in England several decades ago – coming back from 0-2 to win 3-2 against India in their home conditions, with their manic crowd spurring them on, it really is an unprecedented achievement. I know, I know – those were gruelling Tests, these are just pyjama ODIs. But the character, the never-say-die attitude ingrained in the DNA of the Australians has surfaced at exactly the right time – so much so that even the fact that India were 2-0 up works in favour of the Aussies. This 3-2 is more uplifting than 5-0. Why? Pressure. This is the kind of situation where numbers can lie. They really can.
Teams winning after being 0-2 down in an ODI series:
3-2 SA vs Pak, 2003
3-2 Ban vs Zim, 2005
4-2 Pak vs Ind, 2005
3-2 SA vs Eng, 2016
3-2 Aus vs Ind, 2019
– First series loss for India at home since losing 2-3 to South Africa in October 2015.
– First ODI series defeat for Virat Kohli at home. Also, the first instance of India losing three consecutive ODIs under Kohli’s captaincy.
– First time India have been bowled out thrice in any series since the tri-series in Australia in 2012.
– The last time before the current streak India lost three consecutive home ODIs was way back in November 2009 – against Australia.
Aaron Finch | Australia captain: It’s unbelievable. The resilience and the fight that we showed was incredible. We’ve had our backs against the wall for a while now, but I’m really proud of the group for coming back. It’s important to have a balanced side. We need a good balance of attack and defence. You need good batsmanship on these wickets against these really talented guys like Kuldeep, Chahal and Jaddu. Like I said, people have written us off for quite a while now, but the team that we have can win us the series, and they can win us the World Cup. It’s about believing in ourselves and sticking to our gameplan. It was a great series all round even though India beat us resoundingly in Nagpur.
rajiv 