IND v AUS 2020: Aakash Chopra names the positives for Team India from the ODI series

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has picked the positives for Team India from the recently concluded 3-match ODI series against Australia. He named these players in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

The renowned commentator chose Hardik Pandya as the biggest gain for the Indian team from the ODI series against Australia.

"Hardik Pandya has to be right at the top of the positives for Team India from the ODI series because if someone has done the best job it is Hardik Pandya. He made the most runs for India in the series and played consistently well as a batsman and even bowled well when he did that."

Aakash Chopra named Ravindra Jadeja as the other big positive for Team India. He lauded the southpaw's efforts with the bat while hoping that he becomes a little more penetrative with the ball.

"The other positive is Ravindra Jadeja. I was expecting that he will bowl a little better but it was not that good, he did not get the wickets although he was economical but I was looking for the wickets. But his batting is one of the positives I will take home."

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Aakash Chopra on the other positives for Team India

Shardul Thakur and T Natarajan gave a good account of themselves for India in the 3rd ODI

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Shardul Thakur and T Natarajan did a decent job in the solitary match they played for India in the series.

"Shardul Thakur played just the one match and picked up three wickets. Natarajan, who played his first match, also bowled well. So, I will consider both of them as positives."

Liked the spirit with which @imShard ran in and gave everything he had. And @imjadeja showed he is always in the game.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 2, 2020

The former KKR player observed that Shikhar Dhawan's returns tapered off a little after a good first outing.

"Shikhar Dhawan looked good in the first match, he looked okay in the second and got out in the third. I was expecting a bit more."

Aakash Chopra added that Virat Kohli seemed to be back to his best in the final ODI of the series.

"Virat Kohli has scored runs even though he may not have hit a century. The way he batted in the last match was a big positive because he was seen bossing."

The 43-year-old highlighted that Mohammed Shami was the standout bowler for Team India in the first two matches, with Jasprit Bumrah's performance in the last match a good omen for the upcoming T20I and Test series.

"Mohammed Shami was very good in the first two encounters although everyone was getting hit. There are a few positives with Bumrah also peaking towards the end before the T20I and Test series."

While hoping that KL Rahul is given an opportunity to bat at the top of the order, Aakash Chopra observed that Shreyas Iyer did not have the best of times.

"I still feel KL Rahul should be made to bat up the order. It was 50-50 for Shreyas, this series was a sort of dampener for him, it was not that good for him."

Aakash Chopra signed off by stating that there were certainly a few gains for Team India, although a few of the players like Yuzvendra Chahal and Navdeep Saini were found wanting a little.

"It was not good for Chahal or Navdeep Saini either. It was not good for quite a few people but we finished the series with a few positives."

The batting performances of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja would certainly be the biggest positives for Team India.

But the lack of penetration of their fast bowlers in the first powerplay would be a huge concern for them. Marnus Labuschagne's dismissal by T Natarajan in the final ODI was the only wicket India managed to take in the first 10 overs of the three-match series.

1-10 overs Powerplay was introduced in 2005. Since then it was first time that India played 5 consecutive ODIs without taking a wicket in the Powerplay. The unwanted sequence finally broken today by the debutant T Natarajan with a wicket of Marnus Labuschagne. #AusvInd

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) December 2, 2020