India vs Australia 2019: 3 major talking points from the ODI series

3. Eye-opener for India

India should not read too much into the losses but take these as learnings

Going into the series India started as clear favorites, and they looked to try out a few combinations to settle in on the World Cup squad. The series started with a Dhoni-Jadhav special, a repeat of the preceding ODI the two teams played against each other at Melbourne. The second game was won by a brilliant comeback with the ball at the death.

But then came three consecutive losses, much to everyone's surprise. And the reasons for all three defeats were different.

The third game saw the top order fail, except Virat Kohli. The middle order batsmen all got starts but could not sustain their play. The bowlers failed to pick wickets with the new ball too.

The fourth game saw India letting the opposition off the hook after having them at 12/2 while chasing 359. The use of non-regular bowlers instead of the strike bowlers allowed the batsmen to settle and take the game deep. And at the death, the unexpected happened when Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were hit for more than 60 runs in nearly 4 overs.

The fifth game was a combination of both, ineffective new ball spells followed by runs leaking at the death, and that too to the tail-enders. A collective batting failure followed, except for a gutsy stand between Kedar Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar.

Having lost three consecutive games going into the World Cup, India do not have momentum on their side. But the fact that they were trying out a few combinations for selecting the World Cup squad, which never let them play with their preferred combination and strongest XI, has to be considered.

These losses will undoubtedly serve as wake-up calls for India and will prevent any kind of complacency from creeping in.