India were 2-0 up in the ODI series after winning in Hyderabad and Nagpur but allowed Australia to claw back into the series. The hosts eventually lost their final international assignment ahead of the World Cup 2-3 to Australia.
India lost their first ODI series at home under Virat Kohli's captaincy on Wednesday (AP Photo)
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- Virat Kohli said he wouldn't use the World Cup experimentation as an excuse for the ODI series defeat
- India lost the five-match ODI series to Australia after being 2-0 up
- Sunil Gavaskar said he would have wanted the team to experiment after sealing the series
India captain Virat Kohli said the team will not give their experimentation with the playing XI as a reason for the ODI series defeat to Australia. Aaron Finch's men came back after being 2-0 down to clinch the rubber 3-2 at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on Wednesday as India faced defeat in their final international assignment ahead of the 2019 World Cup. As it happened | Match report
Virat Kohli had lost his cool when he was asked if India had experimented at the cost of winning matches after the 2-0 T20I series defeat last month. However, the constant shuffling made it difficult for the side to fight back once Australia gained momentum with successive wins in Ranchi in the third ODI and Mohali in the fourth ODI.
"Last three games, the idea was to give fringe guys some time and see how they react. No excuses, we're expected to raise our standard of cricket. The changes will never be an excuse. We will take a lot of confidence going into the World Cup," Kohli said after India's 35-run defeat on Wednesday.
India had rested MS Dhoni for the last two ODIs to give chances to wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who was named in the squad ahead of Dinesh Karthik who had been regular in the limited-overs side ahead of the Australia series.
Ambati Rayudu, who was given the backing after his good performances in the Asia Cup last year, was dropped after a string of poor performances in the first three ODIs.
The team management also gave KL Rahul an opportunity in the fourth ODI wherein Australia completed their highest-ever successful ODI chase of 359. Virat Kohli had to drop himself to the No. 4 spot in Mohali and failed to trouble the scorers much.
At the same time, India dropped Ravindra Jadeja in Mohali only to bring him back in the series decider in Delhi.
We're more or less sorted now: Virat Kohli
Despite the changes not working in India's favour, Kohli maintained that India have a more or less sorted squad for the World Cup.
"We're more or less sorted, now it's about giving guys their roles and expect them to stand up. Maybe there's just one spot we've to discuss."
Australia came on top after posting 272 on the board on a sluggish Feroz Shah Kotla wicket on Wednesday. Usman Khawaja led from the front with the bat as the opener scored his second century of the series and finished with 383 runs.
In reply, Rohit Sharma made a fifty but lost wickets in batches to lose momentum. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kedar Jadhav gave India a glimmer of hope with a 92-run stand before both the batsmen were dismissed off successive deliveries.
India have learnt nothing about the No.4 spot: Sunil Gavaskar
Meanwhile, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, speaking to Star Sports after the Delhi ODI, opined India should have experimented after sealing an unbeatable lead in the series.
"With a 2-0 lead, you tend to do a little bit of experimentation. You can understand that. The bigger picture of the World Cup was there. They were not a 100 percent about a couple of places. The No. 4 position, for example, and the fourth seamer.
"As far as the No. 4 position is concerned, nothing has been learnt in this series. My personal take has always been 'win the series and then do the experimentation'. I would have actuallty wanted the team to win the series 3-0 and then do the experimentation. Obviously, that didn't happen. But I believe, at this particular point, there is plenty to learn from what has happened," Gavaskar added.
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