IND vs AUS 2022-23, 4th ODI: Zampa's 4-for hands India maiden home series loss in 4 years; fans upset

Team India faced the wrath of the bowlers from Australia, especially from leg-spinner Adam Zampa, as it suffered a 21-run thrashing in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) at the MA Chidambaram (Chepauk) Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. As a result, the Men in Blue suffered their maiden ODI series trouncing at home in four years, while fans were upset with the outcome.

Winning the toss, Australian skipper Steven Smith opted to bowl and made a couple of changes whilst bringing in explosive veteran opener David Warner, who missed the opening two contests. In contrast, the Indians moved in with the same XI from the Visakhapatnam defeat. The visitors started well with the bat, with openers Travis Head (33) and Mitchell Marsh (47) putting 68 on the board before the former perished to pacer Hardik Pandya in the 11th over.

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The Kangaroos lost a couple of wickets more quickly and were down to 85/3 by the 15th when Warner (23) and Marnus Labuschagne (28) added 40 for the fourth wicket. However, the pair failed to make a lasting impact, as the former fell to chinaman wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the 25th.

After losing Labuschagne 13 runs later to the same man in the 29th at 138, Alex Carey (38) and Marcus Stoinis (25) contributed to a 58-run partnership for the sixth wicket. However, the stand was broken by leg-spinner Axar Patel in the 37th. While Carey also departed a couple of overs later to Kuldeep, a 42-run partnership happened between Sean Abbott (26) and Ashton Agar (17).

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It was in the 45th when Abbott was knocked over by Axar at 245, as the Aussies were eventually bowled out for 269 by the 49th. As for the Men in Blue, Pandya and Kuldeep were on song, catching three wickets each, while leg-spinner Ravindra Jadeja was economical. In reply, India began on a positive note, too, with skipper Rohit Sharma (30) and Shubman Gill (37) putting 65 on the board before the former fell to pacer Abbott in the tenth over of the PowerPlay (PP).

Gill followed Rohit back soon after, in the 13th, after being trapped leg-before by leg-spinner Adam Zampa. Then, Virat Kohli (54) and KL Rahul (32) joined forces to contribute to a 69-run partnership for the third wicket. Although both men appeared to be settled, the latter fell in the 28th to Zampa.

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Thereon, the partnerships were not convincing enough, as the Indians kept losing a wicket after every 30-odd runs. While Suryakumar Yadav (0) was the sixth wicket to fall at 185, it was his third golden duck in the series, making him the first player to do so in an ODI series.

While Pandya (40) and Jadeja (18) tried to provide the utmost fightback, the Australian bowlers hardly gave them room to free their arms. The lack of flow of runs piled pressure on the pair, as attempts to accelerate saw them lobbing the ball in the air and safely making it land into the visiting hands.

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Eventually, the Indians were bundled for 248 by the final over, falling short by 21 runs. As for the Aussies, while Zampa finished with four, orthodox spinner Ashton Agar was the most economical one from their side. Also, the Kangaroos rose to the top of the ICC ODI Rankings as the number one side, displacing the hosts.