Nagpur: India pulled off a sensational six-wicket victory over Australia in a do-or-die sixth ODI, riding on Virat Kohli’s brutal unbeaten 115 and Shikhar Dhawan’s blistering century to level the series 2-2 here on Wednesday.
Chasing a mammoth 351, the Indians gave ample display of their batting firepower on a belter of a track to overhaul the target with three balls to spare in what turned out to be a thrilling contest that went down the wire.
Dhawan (100), Rohit Sharma (79) and Kohli – who hit the third fastest ODI hundred by an Indian from just 61 balls, were the main architects of India’s victory in the high-scoring tussle, which has restored the balance of the series after the Ranchi and Cuttack ODIs were washed out.
Earlier, George Bailey (156) and Shane Watson (102) smashed scintillating centuries as Australia put the listless Indian bowling attack to the sword to post an imposing 350 for six after being in to bat.
India replied in stunning fashion with Dhawan hitting his fourth ODI ton in his 24th match while Kohli struck his 17th century in his 118th match. Dhawan faced 102 balls in his innings and hit 11 boundaries while Kohli’s unbeaten knock came from just 66 balls with the help of 18 fours and a six.
Captain MS Dhoni (25 not out) hit the winning runs as India reached 351 for four to bring the capacity crowd to raptures.
With the series locked 2-2, the seventh ODI in Bangalore on Saturday will serve as the summit showdown of the series, which has already seen a phenomenal 2,565 runs scored so far (excluding the 295 scored by Australia in the abandoned fourth match at Ranchi). (PTI)
SCORECARD
Australia:
P Hughes c Kohli b Kumar 13
A Finch b Ashwin 20
S Watson b Shami 102
G Bailey c Kohli b Jadeja 156
G Maxwell c Kumar b Ashwin 9
A Voges not out 44
M Johnson c Dhawan b Jadeja 0
B Haddin not out 0
Extras: (w-3, nb-3) 6
Total: (6 wkts; 50 overs) 350
FOW: 1-30, 2-45, 3-213, 4-224, 5-344, 6-346
Bowling: Kumar 8-0-42-1; Shami 8-1-66-1; Jadeja 10-0-68-2; Ashwin 10-0-64-2; Mishra 10-0-78-0; Kohli 2-0-15-0; Raina 2-0-17-0
India:
R Sharma c Faulkner b Finch 79
S Dhawan b Faulkner 100
V Kohli not out 115
S Raina c Haddin b Johnson 16
Yuvraj b Johnson 0
MS Dhoni not out 25
Extras: (lb-8, w-7, nb-1) 16
Total: (4 wkts; 49.3 overs) 351
FOW: 1-178, 2-234, 3-290, 4-290
Bowling: Johnson 10-0-72-2; McKay 7-0-47-0; Faulkner 9.3-0-73-1; Doherty 6-0-40-0; Watson 6-0-51-0; Maxwell 7-0-40-0; Finch 4-0-20-1