India vs Australia 2019: 3 issues India need to address ahead of the 5th ODI

#1 Breaking middle over partnerships

India v Australia - ODI Series: Game 3

It was a great disappointment as an Indian fan to find their best bowlers having difficulty to defend a mammoth total of 358, even after picking up two very early wickets. But if you think that the game was changed by Turner, then you are wrong. The turning point of the game was the 192 run partnership between Khawaja and Handscomb.

When Australia were reduced for 12 for 2, Khawaja and Handscomb joined hands to take the game deep. Even the spin duo of Kuldeep and Chahal looked ordinary in front of them.

None of Chahal, Kuldeep, Jadhav or Shankar could create a chance to get the duo out. Bumrah had to be introduced into the attack to break the partnership, and he did so in the second over of his second spell.

Handscomb didn't seem disturbed by the fact that he had lost his partner and he went on to score his maiden ton. When Handscomb and Maxwell departed, it was just the finishing touch Australia needed and it was provided perfectly by Turner and the dew.

The root cause of the loss was the failure of being unable to pick up wickets in the middle overs.

If India wants to win the decider, they have to be more attacking in the middle overs to have an upper hand early in the game. The spin duo needs to be more attentive because the visitors didn't seem to have any difficulty tackling them.