Aaron Finch’s ton on comeback fails to take Australia over the line vs India

Aaron Finch, who had missed the first two ODIs in Chennai and Kolkata due to a calf strain, scored a century on his comeback. But Australia lost to India in the third ODI at Indore’s Holkar stadium

Aaron Finch slammed a century against India in the third ODI at the Holkar Stadium on Sunday, to help his team score 293/6 in 50 overs. But it did not prove enough as Australia lost by five wickets. (India vs Australia 3rd ODI Highlights)

Aaron Finch in action during the 3rd One Day International between India and Australia at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.(AFP)

The 30-year-old right-hander, who had missed the Chennai and Kolkata ODIs due to a calf strain, smashed his eighth ODI century off 110 balls. It was his second ton against India, having scored 107 in the Canberra ODI in 2016. (India vs Australia 3rd ODI Scorecard)

Finch, along with skipper Steve Smith, shared a 100-plus run stand and negotiated the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal brilliantly. This was their third consecutive 100-plus run stand for the second wicket, having earlier shared stands of 101 in Melbourne in 2015 and 182 in the semi-final of the 2015 ICC World Cup in Sydney.

The right-hander’s brilliant ton, backed up by a solid partnership with Smith, gave Australia the momentum for the first time in the series after they had won the toss and chose to bat.

On a flat pitch, Finch, along with David Warner, started steadily in the face of some disciplined bowling from Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. It was Finch who broke the shackles by slamming two boundaries off Bumrah in the fourth over. Looking at Finch’s approach, Warner found his aggression and the pair put on 70 for the opening wicket.

Hardik Pandya broke the stand when he castled Warner for 42 with an off-cutter but Finch, who survived a close run-out chance on 41, notched up his fifty off 61 balls when he launched Yuzvendra Chahal down the ground for a boundary. After reaching his milestone, Finch played confidently against Kuldeep and Pandya as steadily increased his strike-rate.

The 30-year-old lofted Bhuvneshwar for a straight six over long-off and hammered Kuldeep for a six and four in an over. He notched up the landmark by sweeping the 22-year-old Chinaman for a boundary to fine leg.

After reaching his landmark, Finch launched two further sixes off Kuldeep Yadav as India struggled to contain the flow of runs. However, the Chinaman bowler had his revenge as the Australian was caught at deep mid wicket for 124 off 125 balls.