India's supremacy in the ongoing ODI series against Australia has seen the Men-In-Blue attain unprecedented success, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead. Here is a brief look at the five key factors behind the team's ascent to the number one ODI spot.

 

- Kuldeep Yadav has added to his growing repertoire as the spinner to be wary of in the Indian team. He has been a tough nut for the Aussies to crack.  The Chinaman has bagged 7 wickets from the three outings. After becoming only the third Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in ODIs at Eden Gardens, Kuldeep continued to be a thorn in Australia's path at Indore. He was instrumental in getting the hosts back into the game with back-to-back strikes of  a well set Aaron Finch (124) & Steven Smith (63).

 

- Death bowling is a vital ingredient for any team in the limited overs cricket. In the third ODI, the Aussies were cruising at one stage as they were eyeing a 320+ score. However Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Co. pulled things back in the death overs, conceding just 59 runs and picking up 4 vital wickets. This tremendous effort from the Indian bowlers restricted the visitors to 293.

 

- Ajinkya Rahane (70) and Rohit Sharma (71) made the most out of a flat pitch at Indore. The opening partnership set the tone for the chase as the Mumbai duo added 100 runs plus between them.

 

- Finally, the search for the genuine all-rounder seems to be over for Team India. Hardik Pandya is filling this role with ease, with bat and ball. In the 3rd ODI, he was promoted up the order to number 4 and the all-rounder made the most of this opportunity, scoring a game-changing 78. He is the highest run-scorer in the ongoing series with 181 runs at a healthy average of 60.33.

 

 

- Manish Pandey's unbeaten 36 in the 3rd ODI was not less than a fifty as he made sure that team crossed the finishing line comfortably.