India vs Australia : Dhoni guides India to historic series win
Melbourne, Jan 18 : Mahendra Singh Dhoni rekindled his love affair with final flourishes, anchoring India to their maiden bilateral ODI series triumph in Australia for a perfect finish to a historic trip Down Under here Friday.
Virat Kohli's men became the first country to return from Australia without losing a single series having won the Test series 2-1 and drawn the T20 Internationals 1-1.
From a dasher, to a finisher to finally the anchor in the last leg of his career, Dhoni 3.0 was in full flow during India's successful chase of 231 in the third and final ODI on a sluggish Melbourne pitch after Yuzvendra Chahal set it up with a career-best 6 for 42.
"It wasn't an easy wicket to bat on, so it was important to take the game deep," said India skipper Virat Kohli in the post-match presentation.
"Two set batsmen there who knew what to do and they got the job done. We've been here a long time, it's been an amazing tour. We drew the T20 series, won the Test series and now the ODIs. If you had given me these results before the tour, I would have gladly taken it," he added.
Dhoni's unbeaten 87 off 114 balls was a testimony to his high quality match awareness as the street-smart Kedar Jadhav (61 no, 57 balls) donned the role of a finisher.
The former India skipper's role going into the business end of his illustrious career is that of an anchor, who takes the game deep.
He performed his role to perfection with world class exhibition of running between the wickets in what could well be his last match on theAustralian soil.
Not to forget the 'Man of the Series' award for a hat-trick of half-centuries and two coming in winning causes.
While Dhoni was lucky to be dropped on 0 and 74 but Australian bowling never had the sting to unsettle the Indian batsmen despite skipper Virat Kohli (46) being dismissed with more than 100 runs left.
Chasing 231, India got off to a slow start as well. Australia created some good pressure with the new ball, in particular Jhye Richardson (1-41) who tied down Rohit Sharma (9).
It worked as the right-handed opener was caught at slip in the sixth over. Despite Kohli coming to the crease thereafter, India struggled in the first powerplay and only scored 26-1 in the first ten overs.
Kohli added 44 runs with Shikhar Dhawan (23) for the second wicket, but it was a slower partnership than usual thanks to some tight bowling and fielding by Australia in this passage of play.
The duo tried to cut loose, as Peter Handscomb dropped Kohli (on 10) at first slip off Billy Stanlake (0-49) in the 12th over. But things turned around for Australia when Dhawan lobbed a return catch to Marcus Stoinis in the 17th over.
While Kohli and Dhoni added 54 runs off 82 balls for the third wicket, it was an uncharacteristic partnership. There were two incidents of confusion between the wickets first in the 21st over when Kohli was stranded and was saved for a lack of a direct hit.
The Dhoni-Jadhav (121 runs) partnership then took some time in getting going. In the meantime, Dhoni reached his 70th ODI half-century off 74 balls.
Jadhav then soothed Indian nerves as he scored his fourth ODI half-century off 52 balls, as the equation came down to 14 needed off 12. He struck two fours in the penultimate over off Peter Siddle (1-56) to close in on the match.
Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal picked up 6-42 as Australia were bowled out for 230 runs (48.4 overs).
Chahal matched Ajit Agarkar's 6-42 in 2004 as he recorded the joint best-ever ODI figures on Australian soil. In doing so, he also improved on his previous best of 5-22 against South Africa at Centurion in January 2018.
Chahal varied the pace of his deliveries and also used the deception in his flight to make life miserable for Australian batsmen.
For Australia, Peter Handscomb (58) scored a fighting half-century and took them to a respectable total after they were reduced to 161-6 at one stage.
Play was delayed by ten minutes because of rain and, after the first two balls in the Australian innings there was a further 20-minute delay before weather improved. The hosts faltered under cloudy skies though as Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-28) and Mohammed Shami (2-47) bowled excellent opening spells.
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India needs steady hand at the wheel but has 'compromised PM': Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): A day after a US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka's coast, the Congress on Thursday questioned the government's silence with Rahul Gandhi saying that while the country needed a steady hand at the wheel, it has a "compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy".
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Modi government's "reckless abdication" of India's strategic and national interests is there for all to see.
"An Iranian ship, a guest of India was returning, unarmed from the International Fleet Review 2026, hosted by us, and was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). No statement of concern or condolence. PM Modi remains mute," Kharge said on X.
"Why lecture us on the doctrines of MAHASAGAR and India being a 'Net Security Provider' in the IOR, when you can’t react on what is happening in your own backyard? As many as 38 Indian Flag commercial ships along with 1100 sailors are stuck in Gulf of Hormuz," he said.
"Indian sailors, including Captain Ashish Kumar have reportedly died. Why is there no maritime rescue or relief operation in place? You say only 25 days of crude and oil stocks left. With rising oil prices, what is our energy contingency plan, especially in the wake of GOI virtually accepting the demand to stop import of Russian oil? What about the trade of other key commodities with the gulf countries?" the Congress chief said.
As per MEA statement on March 3, "some Indian nationals have lost their lives or are missing", he said.
"There are one crore Indians in the gulf region countries. Medical students are releasing desperate video messages seeking help. How is the GOI securing their well-being? Is there any evacuation plan in place from the affected areas?" Kharge said.
"Clearly, Modi Ji's SURRENDER is both political and moral! It demeans India’s core national interests and destroys our foreign policy carefully and painstakingly built and followed by successive governments over the years!" Kharge said.
Gandhi said the world has entered a volatile phase and "stormy seas lie ahead"
"India's oil supplies are under threat, with more than 40% of our imports transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The situation is even worse for LPG and LNG," he said on X.
"The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing," Gandhi said.
At a moment like this, India needs a steady hand at the wheel, he said.
"Instead, India has a compromised PM who has surrendered our strategic autonomy," Gandhi alleged.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also said maybe it should not be surprising since the Modi government has still not broken its silence over the targeted assassinations in Iran.
In a significant escalation of the West Asia crisis, a US submarine on Wednesday torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka's coast when it was returning after participating in the Milan naval exercise, a multilateral wargame hosted by India.
In a post on X, Ramesh said the Indian Navy's flagship multilateral exercise, MILAN, was first held in 1995 and the 13th edition was held in Visakhapatnam from February 19 to February 25, 2026 with 18 warships from other countries, including the USA and Iran participating.
The exercise was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Ramesh pointed out.
"This makes yesterday's sinking of the Iranian warship that took part in the Milan exercise by a US Navy submarine in the Indian Ocean some 40 nautical miles south of Galle in Sri Lanka all the more extraordinary. The Iranian warship was on its way back home," he said.
This US action has enormous implications for India as well and it is shocking that there has been no official response to it till now, Ramesh said.
"Maybe it should not be surprising since the Modi government has still not broken its silence over the targeted assassinations in Iran. Never before has the Indian government looked so timid and fearful," the Congress leader said.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, confirming the strike, said at a Pentagon media briefing that it was the first sinking of an enemy warship by a torpedo since World War II.
The Associated Press, quoting the Sri Lankan Navy, reported that 87 bodies were recovered and that 32 people were rescued following the sinking of the warship IRIS Dena.
The incident marks a major escalation of the conflict between the US and Iran outside of the Persian Gulf and throws up questions relating to maritime security in the Indian Ocean that is largely considered as the backyard of the Indian Navy.
The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
In the last few days, the conflict has widened significantly with attacks and counter-attacks by both sides.
India has called for resolving the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
