An MS Dhoni masterclass steered India to a series clinching victory in the final ODI against Australia. 

 Australia never really got going after being put into bat by Indian skipper Virat Kohli, with Peter Handscombe’s half century the only score above 40. 

 Yuzvendra Chahal’s career best 6-42 picked apart the Australian middle order which saw Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell get starts without going on to post significant scores.  

 Australia’s woes began when both openers were dismissed cheaply by Bhuveneshwar Kumar, impressive again with the new ball, and they were 27-2 when Marsh joined Khawaja at the crease for a partnership of 73. 

 But after Marsh, Khawaja, and then Stoinis all fell in quick succession, it was left to Handscombe to guide the hosts to a respectable total with a well-paced 58 off 63 balls. 

 Australia had their chances to contain India on a slow pitch that made scoring difficult, and after Peter Siddle had Rohit Sharma caught early on, they would have been feeling confident. But several mistakes in the field let the game get away from a side who, given their batting woes, couldn’t afford small margins to go against them.  

 They missed runout chances and catches during Dhoni’s 53 partnership with captain Virat Kohli, a period of the game that set up the second half of India’s chase. Dhoni was dropped first ball by Maxwell, and was almost run out on 13, while his partner similarly survived a ran out attempt on 29. 

 Even before he was joined by Dhoni, Billy Stanlake could have had Kohli for just 10 as an edge flew through the hands of Handscombe at first slip. By the time they did get him- Jhye Richardson tempting him into a drive that nicked through to Aaron Carey- Kohli had contributed 46 and Dhoni was well set to inch India home. 

It wouldn’t have been possible without Kedar Jadhav’s impeccable 61 off 57, the only batsman to score at over a run a ball. Australia’s final chance came and went when Dhoni was dropped by Finch with 3 overs and 27 runs left in the chase, but his well-accumulated 87 proved his value to this powerful batting line up, clinching the match and winning the series 2-1.