Bengaluru, Sept 27:
There will be no let-up in intensity as a ruthless India look to inch closer to yet another series whitewash when they take on a beleaguered Australia in the fourth One-day International here tomorrow.
Virat Kohli’s team is going through a dream phase and if yesterday’s training session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was any indication, the winning streak is most likely to continue.
The fate of the five-match series was decided after India swept aside Australia in the first three matches, leaving the possibility of an embarrassing whitewash hanging over the tourists’ heads.
While the likes of Kohli and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been consistently doing what they do best, Hardik Pandya’s growth as an all-rounder has added a new dimension to the team.
He slammed a fluent 78, a few days after an attacking 66 -ball 83, as India comfortably chased down 294 in the last game at Indore to take an unassailable 3-0 lead. Rohit Sharma and Ajikya Rahane played their part to perfection, each scoring half centuries in a 131-run opening partnership.
If needed, India can also count on the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey to deliver the goods with the willow, though one of them could make the way for home boy KL Rahul tomorrow.
While batting has always been their strength, India continue to impress with the ball as well.
Seam bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been troubling Australia’s top-order and cramped the others for room in the death overs.
The young wrist spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav caught the attention with their very impressive showings, and India never seem to have missed Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Yadav had bamboozled the Australian batsmen in Kolkata, where he picked up a hat-trick, and joined Kapil Dev and Chetan Sharma.
A very good thing about this Indian batting line-up is that each batsman has managed to contribute to the team’s cause when the chips were down. When the top-order failed in the series opener, the middle and lower-order guided the team to safety. Both, though, clicked in the third ODI.
Pandya has been hogging the limelight with his all-round ability and he will again be a threat to the opponents.
Going into the Ashes, Australia will desperately try to regain some momentum in the last two dead rubbers against India.(PTI)
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