CHENNAI: Australian spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar turned the match to hand India their first one-day international series defeat at home since 2019 in a thrilling third and final match in Chennai on Wednesday.
Left-arm spinner Agar removed in-form Virat Kohli (54) and the world´s top-rated Twenty20 batter Suryakumar Yadav for his third consecutive golden duck in the first two balls of the 36th over to leave the hosts reeling at 185-6 with a target of 270 to win.
The visitors won the match by 21 runs after bowling out the hosts for 248 in the last over after Australia´s stand-in-captain Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat first in the series-decider.
The series was important practice on South Asian pitches for Australia before the ODI World Cup in India later this year.
India bowled out Australia for 269 and were cruising in the first 10 overs of their chase before skipper Rohit Sharma fell after a 17-ball 30 with the team at 65-1.
Sharma´s in-form opening partner Shubman Gill too fell soon afterwards after a steady 49-ball 37 to leg-spinner Zampa.
India´s star batters Kohli and KL Rahul struck a busy 69-run partnership before Rahul also fell to Zampa for 32. The hosts´ otherwise reliable lower-middle order offered little resistance after all-rounders Hardik Pandya (40) and Ravindra Jadeja (18) also fell to Zampa, who finished with 4-45 in his 10-over spell.
Zampa´s spin-partner Agar finished with 2-41 while pacers Sean Abbott and Marcus Stoinis took one wicket each.
Australia won the toss
Australia Innings
Head c Yadav b Pandya 33
Marsh b Pandya 47
Smith (c) c †Rahul b Pandya 0
Warner c Pandya b Yadav 23
Labuschagne c Shubman b Yadav 28
Carey † b Kuldeep 38
Stoinis c Shubman b Patel 25
Abbott b Patel 26
Agar c Patel b Siraj 17
Starc c Jadeja b Siraj 10
Adam Zampa not out 10
Extras: (lb 4, nb 1, w 7) 12
Total: 49 Ov (RR: 5.48) 269
Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-74, 3-85, 4-125, 5-138, 6-196, 7-203, 8-245, 9-247, 10-269
Bowling: Mohammed Shami 6-0-37-0, Mohammed Siraj 7-1-37-2, Axar Patel 8-0-57-2, Hardik Pandya 8-0-44-3, Ravindra Jadeja 10-0-34-0, Kuldeep Yadav 10-1-56-3
India Innings
Sharma (c) c Starc b Abbott 30
Shubman lbw b Zampa 37
Kohli c Warner b Agar 54
Rahul † c Abbott b Zampa 32
Patel run out (Smith/†Carey) 2
Pandya c Smith b Zampa 40
Yadav b Agar 0
Jadeja c Stoinis b Zampa 18
Yadav run out (Stoinis/†Carey) 6
Shami b Stoinis 14
Mohammed Siraj not out 3
Total: 49.1 Ov 248
Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-77, 3-146, 4-151, 5-185, 6-185, 7-218, 8-225, 9-243, 10-248
Bowling: Mitchell Starc 10-0-67-0, Adam Zampa 10-0-45-4, Ashton Agar 10-0-41-2, Sean Abbott 10-0-50-1, Marcus Stoinis 9.1-0-43-1
Result: Australia won by 21 runs
Player of the match: Adam Zampa
Umpires: Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon