India vs Australia, 3rd ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: Australia tour of India, 2017 Venue: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore Date & Time: Sep 24, 01:30 PM LOCAL

A 139-run stand between Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane provided India the platform in the chase © AFP

That's a wrap:Another victory for India and another series win. Two more games to go - the next one in Bengaluru on September 28. Join us again to find out if it'll be one-way traffic once more.

Post-match presentations:

Hardik Pandya (MoM):"It feels good, but I couldn't finish the match. I saw the promotion as an opportunity than a surprise. I wanted to target the left-arm spinner. When I got the sixes, I knew that I can play a few dot balls as well. I try to contribute in every way I can."

Virat Kohli:"They batted really well, but we knew that if we get two, three wickets, we could pull it back. I was thinking this was a 330-wicket. The bowlers stood up when we wanted them to. Wrist spinners need to be backed. I felt they were 35-40 runs short. That gave us a lot of confidence. Rohit and Rahane were very good and then Hardik Pandya, only he can do what he does when he bats like that. He's a star. He bowls, bats and fields as well. He is the guy we were looking for in a long time. A great asset for Indian cricket. His promotion today was Ravi bhai's thought. He felt we needed to attack the spinner. We may give opportunities for people like Umesh Yadav and Axar Patel from now, but all 15 guys know that we got to be ruthless once we step onto the field."

Steven Smith: "I thought we set it up beautifully with the bat to launch at the back-end, but couldn't get the boundaries. 330+ might have been a different result but credit to India. Hardik was fabulous and Rohit and Jinks were very good at the top. I thought Finchy was magnificent, it was a great hundred. The pitch was pretty much the same for both teams until 35 overs, it did slow down towards the end. We weren't good enough to get the boundaries."

innings.

330 21

Bowled HIM!

Hardik Pandya is raking up an elite list of dismissals this series. He already has Smith twice in two games, and has now removed a Warner who was starting to settle in - the most dangerous form of Warner. Hardik's short-of-good-length ballwas sent to the cover boundary. He responds with an off-cutter that Warner did not anticipate at all. Warner played for a straighter one, and ended up playing inside the line of the ball that gripped the surface and turned marginally away to clip the top of off-stump. Excellent ball from Hardik. Australia 70/1 in 13.3 overs.

Sunil Gavaskar on air says it isn't as hot in Indore as it was in Kolkata, but Kaushik pings from Indore that there's pretty much a drinks break every two hours. Meanwhile, Australia have moved along nicely to 49 for 0 in 10 overs with David Warner and Aaron Finch settling in. Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah have bowled longer opening spells today.

Good start for Bhuvneshwar

The swing isn't being that good of a friend today, but the Indian pacer has started well - his line (on and outside off stump) and length (short of good length) is on the mark. The Indore strip looks a batting beauty, so big task for Bhuvneshwar to ensure he doesn't waver too much.

In India's quest to field the most competitive eleven for the Project 2019, the Kohli-led side is currently running two projects at the same time - their new-found love for wristspinners and a never ending search for their No. 4 bat. Here's Kaushik's thoughts on the same..

Elevens:

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli(c), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Australia (Playing XI): Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith(c), Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb(w), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kane Richardson

Team News

Australia have made a couple of changes. Hilton Cartwright makes way for Aaron Finch at the top of the order while out-of-form Matthew Wade goes out as Peter Handscomb replaces him. Gamble with a part-time 'keeper? Let's see how that works..

India remain unchanged.

Toss time, folks

Steve Smith has won his first toss of the series and as expected of him, Australia have decided to bat first.

The 22-yards-Story

"This pitch to me looks like a belter. This looks like a 300+ pitch. Let's get our bats out and enjoy the surface. It is going to be really good to bat on. The wrist spinners may get a bit of turn," reckon Michael Clarke and Sunny Gavaskar.

Ground Zero Report

"Throwdowns for Finch now and this one's happening more near the rest of the training group (unlike Cartwright's who had his at a practice pitch at the far end) This looks a more conclusive sign especially with him now practice his cuts and pulls," adds our man.

"Hilton Cartwright was out on one of the practice pitches getting throwdowns from S. Sriram. I won't read much into it just yet. But, Zampa & Faulkner practised the longest before the Kolkata ODI and both were left out," notes Kaushik.

Our man at the ground, Kaushik Rangarajan,is happy to report that it is bright and sunny here as Australia's support staff walk in. Quite a buzz outside the stadium. In fact, there was quite a big crowd assembled on either side of the road yesterday just to get a sight of the team buses entering the stadium! Good vibes!

Warming up

Hello and a warm welcome to the third ODI between India and Australia. The first two games have been completely owned by the hosts and another win would give India a series win with two games to go. Australia know they are up against a dominant India and as cliched as it is, it is 'Now or Never' for the tourists. Steve Smith doesn't always express his disappointment as he did at the end of the Kolkata ODI. There are a lot of concerns clouding Australia's mind while for India, someone or the other has put his hand up at the right time. Of course, the two wrist spinners, especially Kuldeep Yadav has led the show from the front. His hat-trick would be talked about for a long time, or maybe not, 'cause the way he has turned up for every game, another good performance could help you getting over his previous best.

It's going to be an exciting day at one of the most buzzing grounds in India. Yes, the Holkar stadium has managed to attract a lot of people to the stands, and there is no doubt that it is going to be an ideal Sunday..