Australia completed a hat-trick of successful chases, all three by creating a new record batting second at the three respective venues at Perth, Brisbane, and now in Melbourne
India went into the series against Australia as clear underdogs. And, over the course of the two matches nothing has changed to suggest that the tide will turn
Australia defeated India by five wickets in the opening one-dayer against India at Perth in what was a run-fest. Here’s a compilation of some interesting statistics from the match
The Perth ODI was a high scoring encounter, with batsmen from both sides performing exceedingly well on a belter of a pitch. And, while Australia definitely had the advantage of knowing what score they had to chase
There is something about India that bring out the best in Steven Smith. The Aussie captain looks fluent during most of his visits to the crease, but pit him against the Indians, and he becomes a modern-day Don Bradman.
Less than a year after the disastrous tri-series in Australia which was succeeded by an impressive World Cup campaign thwarted only by the Aussies, India are back Down Under for an ODI and T20 series.
After winning the T20 on Friday, India were victorious in the second practice match as well, a 50-over game against Western Australia at Perth on Saturday
Results in practice games do not matter a lot. After all, they are just matches against teams with upcoming, relatively inexperienced players, allowing the visiting side to get idea about the conditions that would prevail during the main contests. In India's case though, it is not all that simple.