Manish Pandey’s First 100, Rohit’s 99 & Dhoni’s 6 Help India Win

Manish Pandey’s debut ton, Rohit Sharma’s 99 and a Dhoni sixer helped India win the fifth ODI vs Australia by 6 wkts

Manish Pandey scored his first ODI ton playing in his fourth one-day game for India. (Photo: AP)

MS Dhoni reminded just about everyone why he’s such an asset to the Indian line up as the skipper stepped on the gas in the dying overs to help Manish Pandey score his maiden ODI century and also guide India home by 6 wickets.

The match saw three centuries being scored, two by first-timers, as Rohit Sharma also ended on 99 to help India avoid a 5-0 whitewash in Sydney in a match that could well be the last ODI outing for Dhoni.

Australia’s ODI team with the trophy after winning the series 4-1. (Photo: AP)

Australia’s Innings

After losing the toss, Australia were put in to bat first by MS Dhoni in the final fixture of the series. David Warner struck 122 off 113 deliveries with three sixes and nine fours and Mitchell Marsh was 102 not out from 84 with two sixes and nine fours as the home team scored 330 in their 50 overs.

David Warner celebrates after scoring his first century against India. (Photo: AP)

Warner and Marsh in fact added 118 runs for the fifth wicket after Australia were in a spot of bother earlier in the series, having been reduced to 117/4 in the 22nd over. It was Warner who kept the runs flowing against both pace bowlers and spinners during his fifth ODI century. After him, Marsh took charge with his maiden hundred to inflate the total by adding 85 for the sixth wicket with Matthew Wade (36). The younger of the Marsh brother remained unbeaten on 102 as Australia scored a massive 330/7 in their 50 overs.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah made an impressive debut, the right-arm paceman with an unorthodox bowling action sending down 10 tidy overs to claim 2-40 with some tight death bowling.

Jasprit Bumrah made his ODI debut with a haul of 2/40. (Photo: AP)

India’s Chase

India needed a strong start from their openers to stay on course to chase down such a big total and the visitors got just that from Shikhar Dhawan (78) and Rohit Sharma (99).

Dhawan posted his third successive 50-plus score and Rohit fell agonisingly short of his third century in the series as they raised 123 runs in 18.2 overs.

After his century in Canberra, Virat Kohli got out for 8 in Sydney. (Photo: AP)

John Hastings dismissed Dhawan and Virat Kohli (eight) in quick successions to halt India‘s progress and Rohit left leaving India needing exactly 100 runs from 91 balls to win the contest.

Rohit Sharma fell on 99. (Photo: AP)

With the required run-rate skyrocketing Dhoni and Pandey’s crisp hitting left India needing 13 runs off the last over from Mitch Marsh. He began with a wide and had his next hit out of the ground by Dhoni but the Indian captain fell to the next delivery as nerves kicked-up another level at the SCG.

However, having completed a run by the time Dhoni’s hit was caught, Manish Pandey took strike in the next ball and Gurkeerat walked to the other end. The 22-year-old kept his focus on the task at hand and hit the next ball for a boundary to reach his first-ever ODI century.

A double in the next delivery and India were home. Man-of-the-Match Pandey finishing things off in style. India avoiding a series whitewash.