From 0-2 down, Australia stun India to hand them first ODI series defeat at home in four years

In what was their last game before the showpiece event in United Kingdom, the Indian innings folded for 237, exactly in 50 overs while chasing a 273-run target. Australia had put on board 272 for nine, built around Usman Khawaja's (100) second hundred of the series.

Double strikes are the worst nightmares of a chasing side and those nightmares turned into reality not once but twice for India as Australia beat them by 35 runs in the decider at New Delhi to comeback from 0-2 down and clinch the series 3-2 on Wednesday.

Australia became only the fifth side to win a five-match ODI series after being 0-2 down. This was Indian captain Virat Kohli’s first ODI series defeat at home and India’s first in 4 years. India also became the only side in the world to lose an ODI series twice after winning the first two matches. 

Chasing 273 on a track which had a lot for the spinners was always going to be difficult but India twice found themselves in a position where the match appeared to be in balance only to lose control over it because of double strikes.

The architect for the first double strike was leggie Adam Zampa, who got a well-settled Rohit Sharma(59) and Ravindra Jadeja (0) in the same over. Rohit came down the track to hit Zampa out New Delhi but in the process lost both his and wicket. A couple of balls later, Jadeja dragged his backfoot out of the crease, giving Carey enough time to dislodge the bails

At 132 for six it was looking all downhill for India when Kedar Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar brought India back in the contest with an 81-run stand. But once again Australia swung the match by picking up two wickets in quick succession. Both Kumar (46) and Jadhav(44) fell in succession as Australia neared victory.

The Australian spin trio of Adam Zampa (3/46), Nathan Lyon (1/34) and part-timer Glenn Maxwell (0/34) kept the Indian batsmen on a tight leash.

India could not make a flying start, losing last match's centurion Shikhar Dhawan (12) early and managed just 43 runs in the 10 Powerplay overs.

Rohit was again slow off the blocks, hardly rotating the strike but found some elegant boundaries off the pacers.

The assuring presence of skipper Virat Kohli (20) did not last long as he too departed early, caught behind while attempting a cut off Marcus Stoinis. He added 53 runs for the second wicket with Rohit.

India threw Pant (16) in the line of fire by promoting him to number four but the local boy, who desperately required a substantial performance to back his claim for a spot in the World Cup squad, lasted only 16 balls.

He smashed leg-spinner Zampa for a six but was undone by Lyon, who had the left-hander caught at first slip.

Rotating the strike was key on this Kotla wicket but the Australian spinners kept the pressure on India with dot balls.

The extravagance cost both Pant and Vijay  

Earlier, opener Usman Khawaja, who had not scored a century before arriving to India for this series, hit an exact 100 off 106 balls as he shared two big partnerships at the top of the order to set the platform for the visiting side.

Australia were placed comfortably at 175 for one and set for a kill in slog overs, but India came back when Bhuneshwar got rid off Khawaja in the last ball of the 33rd over.

The visitors added only 97 runs in last 17 overs for the loss of seven wickets.

The left-handed Khawaja first raised a 76-run stand with Aaron Finch  (27) after his skipper elected to bat in hazy and overcast conditions and followed it up with a 99-run partnership with Peter Handscomb (52).

Khawaja was yet again impressive with his footwork, handling the Indian spinners nicely before being caught at shot extra cover by Kohli off  Bhuvneshwar. The left-hander hit 10 fours and two sixes before driving straight to Kohli.

Jadeja then got rid of Glenn Maxwell (1) and Shami sent back Handscomb as Australia lost three wickets in the space of 14 balls.

Jadeja, who replaced Yuzvendra Chahal, made a strong case for himself for inclusion in the World Cup squad with figures of 10-0-45-2.

Jasprit Bumrah was exceptional in his first eight overs giving just 14 runs but Jhye Richardson (29) spoilt his figures by creaming off four boundaries from his ninth over, providing one last push to Australian innings.

It turned out to be a forgettable day for chinaman Kuldeep Yadav who bled 74 runs in his 10 overs but he dismissed dangerous Ashton Turner (20) cheaply.