Skipper MS Dhoni was left dejected and disappointed, as his unbeaten 139 went in vain and India lost the 3rd ODI in Mohali in a shocking manner. India had the edge till the 48th over. But, James Faulkner changed the course of the game by hitting Ishant Sharma for 30 runs in that fateful over. He hit four sixes and a boundary apart from a double.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to field first. India were 76/4 at one stage. They also slumped to 154/6 after Kohli’s departure. However, Dhoni hit 139* off 121 balls with 12 boundaries and 5 sixes to power India post 303/9 in 50 overs. Kohli scored 68. Mitchell Johnson took four wickets.
Australia lost three wickets on 88. At one stage, they were 213/6 and heading towards a defeat. But Adam Voges maintained calm, while Faulkner hit Ishant for a toss. Australia reached 304/6 in 49.3 overs and won the match by 4 wickets to take a 2-1 lead in the seven-match series. Hughes (22), Finch (38), Bailey (43), Voges (76*), Haddin (24) and Faulkner (64* off 29) were the top scorers. For India, Vinay Kumar took two wickets. Faulkner was declared ‘Man of the ‘Match’.
