India Vs Australia: 5 things we learned from the series

After a dismal Champions Trophy, Australia was desperate to get back to winning ways in the limited overs format. Their ODI record away from home was abysmal and they wanted to make amends.

Australia started very poorly in the ODIs, lost first 3 games without putting up a fight and eventually ended up losing the series 4-1. T20 offered some consolation for Australia as it ended in a 1-1 draw after the last game was washed out because of rain.

Let's see the 5 things we learned from this series

#5 Maxwell's trouble against leg spin continues

It looks like Maxwell's leg spin trouble is not going to end anytime soon. Amit Mishra exposed his leg spin frailties in IPL 2015. Maxwell failed miserably against the leg spinners and ended up with only 145 runs in 11 games.

It has not changed since then. Chahal dismissed him 4 times in this series and Maxwell never looked comfortable against him. He struggled throughout the series to pick Chahal's length, drift and flight. He tried to defend from the crease, came down the wicket and tried to take him on but none of the strategies seem to have worked out. He ended the series with just 58 runs.

He is still one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket and if he overcomes his weakness, he can play a key role for Australia in the World Cup 2019.

#4 Dhoni is the best keeper-batsman for India in ODIs

Dhoni has been in sublime form

Dhoni has been in sublime form for India in ODIs for the past few months. He was superb in the away series against Sri Lanka and in the West Indies. He finished off matches, steadied the innings and was consistent in doing so. He scored over 350 runs in his last 10 ODI innings.

Against Australia, he set the platform for the series with a match-winning 79 in first ODI when the Men in Blue were reeling at 87 for 5. He took India to a match-winning score along with Hardik Pandya. He hardly looked out of touch and provides great solidity to the young aggressive middle order. There is no denying the fact that he is still the best wicket-keeper in shorter formats right now.

He may or may not deserve a place in the T20 side, but his ODI credentials are too strong to ignore.

#3 Australia need to replace Mathew Wade

Wade is struggling for runs

Wade may not be the best limited over wicket-keeper in Australia's domestic circuit but his middle order batting ability gave him the edge over Tim Paine and Peter Nevill.

Mathew Wade had a forgettable 2017. He failed miserably during the series against Bangladesh and this series was no exception. He struggled throughout the series and scored a total of 34 runs at an average of 11 with a high score of 20. He failed to make a single notable contribution, and was the big reason behind Australia's middle order batting failure.

Mathew Wade's future is in serious doubt as Australia is looking to build a team for the 2019 World Cup. It's now the right time for Tim Payne to strengthen his case.

#2 Evolution of Hardik Pandya

He is in the form of his life with bat and ball

India's search for a fast bowling all-rounder ends here. Pandya has been a revelation for India in limited over format during recent times and he proved it yet again in the series against Australia. He was brilliant with the bat and extremely effective with the ball.

He scored a total of 222 runs at an average of 55, and took 6 wickets at an average of 31. He was extremely effective whenever he came onto bowl and was superb with the bat. His six hitting ability was phenomenal and was superb in the slog overs.

Pandya and Dhoni are beginning to form a deadly partnership low down the order and it allows Kohli, Dhawan and Rohit to play freely at the top.

#1 India has the best ODI bowling attack

Bowlers winning games for India

India's bowling unit is the key to their dominance in limited overs cricket. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has been consistent over the past few series and they complement each other.

B Kumar is exceptional with the new ball, and Bumrah is currently the best death bowler in shorter formats. Kuldeep and Chahal stem the flow of runs in the middle order and pick up crucial wickets. Their variations are proving to be too much for the batsmen to handle. Good results have come not just in the home but also in the away series.

They are keeping Shami, Umesh, Ashwin and Jadeja out of the team, and these are good signs for Indian cricket.