Australia vs India, 5th ODI: 5 talking points

The victorious Australian squad with the VB Series trophyAfter Australia posted a huge total of 330 in 50 overs, it seemed like the Indian chase ended after the fall of wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. However, what Australia did not expect was a batting masterclass from Manish Pandey, with another exceptional innings from Rohit Sharma and some support at the end from captain, MS Dhoni.Indian batsmen have performed well throughout the whole series and this will definitely be a huge positive for the Indian management as they prepare for the upcoming World T20 at home. But, the bowling performance has been poor to say the least, with death-bowling problems continuing to worry India.Ravindra Jadeja was, arguably, India's best bowler in the series. Although he picked up only three wickets in the series, his economy of 5.35 is nothing short of commendable following the fact that almost all matches had more than 300 runs scored in each innings.Rohit Sharma has started off 2016 on a great note and looks set to beat his run tally from 2015 if he continues playing the way he has. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan have also put in great performances with the bat which are great signs for India.Here are the five talking points from the fifth and final ODI:

#1 Manish Pandey - India\'s new finisher?

Manish Pandey scored a brilliant hundred to help India to a successful chase

Many people criticised the Indian team management after Manish Pandey was dropped after the first two ODIs, not having got a proper chance to showcase his talents. After sitting out for the third and fourth ODIs, Pandey came back into the side after an unfortunate injury ruled out Ajinkya Rahane.

And, what a return to the Indian side for Pandey as he took India home playing a wonderful knock of 104* off just 81 balls to bring up his maiden ODI hundred as well.

Having come to bat in at No. 4, Pandey looked assured from the very first ball. He put away the bad balls with disdain and ran between the wickets very well. He played the big shots when they were required and did not take any unwanted risks.

His partnerships with Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni were game-changers as they took India to the mammoth target set by Australia. As both Rohit and Dhoni fell, he stayed there until the very end and made sure there were no surprises and won the game, taking only calculated risks.

In essence, Pandey's innings displayed perfectly what a finisher should do – take his time team out of a troublesome situation and stick around until the very end to lead his side to a win.

This could be the start of a new beginning for Indian limited-overs cricket as their search for a replacement for ‘Dhoni, the finisher’ goes on. If Pandey can build on his new start to his career, it could be turn out to be crucial for India, having such a talented player in the middle-order.

#2 Jasprit Bumrah - The answer to India\'s bowling woes?

Jasprit Bumrah being congratulated after picking up his first ODI wicket

India has been struggling to find a decent pace bowler who can maintain some consistency and prove some amount of threat to the opposition batsmen. Although Ishant Sharma begins his spell with a consistent line and length, in the death overs, the lanky bowler goes wayward more often than not.

In Jasprit Bumrah, India might have found a solution to that. The 22-year-old bowled brilliantly throughout his spell of 10 overs as he bamboozled the Australian batsmen on a regular basis.

His bowling action and ball release helped him find some seam movement, something that has not been found on this limited-overs tour so far. His first victim was the Australian captain, Steven Smith and gave the young bowler more confidence to continue bowling in the right areas.

Bumrah finished with figures of 10-0-40-2, a figure that will make any debutant delighted. He will be hoping that this is the start of a new beginning and earn a regular place in the national side.

India should persist with Bumrah in the upcoming matches and series so that the youngster can grow into a more threatening bowler. Bumrah is in the squad for the T20I series against Australia after Mohammad Shami injured his hamstring.

#3 Could this be Dhoni\'s last ODI series?

MS Dhoni might have played his last ODI in blue

The Indian cricket team has played their last ODI series for a long time to come now. India will be playing only T20I matches until April, after which the Indian Premier League (IPL) will occupy the players for a couple of months.

Following that, the BCCI is yet to finalise on a series after the IPL which means this could very well be MS Dhoni's last ODI series. It is widely expected that Dhoni will call it a day from international cricket after the World T20.

Dhoni has not been able to find his form on a consistent basis of late and at times, his captaincy has also been called into question. Some of his decisions on bowling changes have been called into question. For instance, in the fifth ODI, bringing on Umesh Yadav when a new batsman in Mitchell Marsh came to the crease was a questionable move.

Also, not using an extra spinner on one of the most spin-friendly pitches in Australia is another aspect that must have bemused many cricket fans.

Even though Dhoni might not be leaving the ODI format on a high, it could be argued that it is time that he hands over the reins to Virat Kohli, the next in line to take over.

#4 Two sides of Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh had contrasting performances with the bat and the ball

In the first innings, Mitchell Marsh showed that the Australian batting lineup was much more than the top four as he scored a brilliant maiden hundred to take his side to a very competitive score of 330.

Marsh displayed a balance of aggression and shrewdness as he worked his way to an 84-ball 102*. His partnerships with David Warner and Matthew Wade showed how the all-rounder was maturing as a batsman and looks set to fill in the shoes left by Shane Watson.

However, before that can be comprehensively concluded, his bowling performance has to be taken into account. In the fifth ODI, Marsh was all over the place as he failed to put any pressure on the Indian batsmen, unlike John Hastings from the other end.

In 9.4 overs, he conceded 77 runs, the most of any Australian bowler. Although he picked up the wicket of Dhoni in the last over, it did not mean much as Manish Pandey guided India home.

It goes without saying that the 24-year-old Marsh has a long way to go as a death-ball bowler and to be able to put pressure on opposition batsmen on a regular basis.

#5 Spider troubles

The spider cam at Sydney was at it again

A year on after the spider cam was blamed for Steven Smith dropping KL Rahul during the fourth Test in Sydney, the spider was at blame again at the SCG.

This time, it was India who were on the receiving end as Virat Kohli's upper-cut hit the spider cam and raced off to the boundary towards third man. The ball was deemed as a dead ball and India did not get any run for it.

Although the end result was not affected as India chased down a record total, it could easily have caused major furore if the match had been decided by a matter of few runs as India might have missed out on a boundary or, at least, two runs following Kohli's shot.