Australia won the third ODI in Rajkot by 66 runs, prevented a clean sweep by India and also managed to once again raise the question of how Rohit Sharma’s team will fare when they have a big chase on their hands. Mitchell Marsh top-scored with a brilliant 96 off 84 balls and helped Australia put up a massive 352/7 on the board. In reply, India were bowled out for 286.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that looked to be very good for batting. They got off to a quick start with David Warner and Marsh going after the Indian bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah included, to bring up the team 50 in just 6.1 overs.

The opening partnership of 78 in just 8.1 overs set the tone of the innings and Australia didn’t look back after that. Marsh (96 off 84 balls) found an able partner in Steve Smith (74 off 61) and they took the score to 215/1 in just 27.5 overs before Marsh was dismissed.

Smith joined Marsh in the dressing room just a little later but Marnus Labuschagne, 72 off 58, ensured that Australia managed to reach 352/7 at the end of their 50 overs. They looked good for plenty more but Bumrah, who finished with 10-0-81-3, managed to get a few wickets and restrict the damage.

The most impressive bowler for India on a day that was characterised by carnage was Washington Sundar (10-0-48-0). When India came out to bat, they simply had to go for it. In-form Shubman Gill was missing from the line-up but Sharma was in sparkling form.

The Indian skipper, though, was the only batter who managed to put the Aussies under the pump. He smashed 81 off just 57 balls and while he was there in the middle, it looked like the hosts might still manage the chase. His dismissal with India on 144 after 21 overs set the cat among the pigeons.

The other batters tried — Kohli scored 56 off 61, Shreyas Iyer got 48 off 43, KL Rahul 26 off 30 and Ravindra Jadeja 35 off 36 — but none of them were able to achieve the required strike-rate. The asking rate kept climbing and that resulted in more wickets.

For Australia, Glenn Maxwell was the star bowler, claiming four wickets for 40 runs. His wickets also included a brilliant caught and bowled which ended Rohit’s innings and put his team on the path to victory.

The win will give Australia some much-needed confidence after a torrid time in South Africa but India, having won the first two ODIs and the series, also got a decent enough workout.