India vs Australia 2017: Nice To Be On The Winning Side: Steve Smith

Australia skipper Steve Smith could not contain his happiness after his side won an overseas One-Day International for the first time in 14 attempts and also avoided the possibility of a whitewash as the world champions defeated India by 2 runs in the fourth game at Bangalore’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Right from the toss, almost everything went Australia’s way in the match. David Warner, playing his 100th ODI, and last match’s centurion Aaron Finch added a record 231 runs for the first wicket before the former was dismissed for a well-made 124. Warner’s dismissal was followed by Finch and Steve Smith’s departure in quick succession which threatened to derail Australia’s innings but Peter Handscomb and Travis Head guided them to a commanding 334 for 5 by sharing a 63-run partnership.

“Nice to be on this side. Nice to get a win in. Warner and Finch were spectacular. Really paced the innings nicely. Set us up to get 330. We lost a few wickets again. Handscomb was very good at the end. Nice little cameo to get us to 330. 300 wouldn’t have been enough. Nice to defend and get a win,” Smith said at the presentation ceremony.

Australia were under pressure while defending when Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma added 106 runs for the first wicket but they struck at crucial junctures to restrict India to 313 for 8.

“We were probably a bit too wide with the new ball. Bowlers were a little bit off throughout but pulled things back. Nice to sit up there and watch Warner do his thing. His ODI form in the last two years has been unbelievable. He continues to grow and get better as a player which is what we’re after,” he added.