India suffer first series defeat under captain Virat Kohli at home

Virat Kohli suffered his first defeat at home in any format as captain after India's 35-run loss against Australia in the fifth and final one-day international in Delhi on Wednesday.

Chasing 273 for victory, India were shot out for 237 in 50 overs by the visiting side who then clinched the series 3-2.

India, who were leading the series 2-0 after the first two games, suffered its first ODI series loss at home since 2016. It was also the first time India lost three consecutive ODIs under Kohli's captaincy.

The Aussies rode on Usman Khawaja's 100 and Peter Handscomb's 52 to post 272 for 9 on the board after electing to bat first.

The total looked par at the Feroz Shah Kotla which offered variable bounce and pace for the bowlers while the spinners also got something out of the pitch.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa bagged 3 wickets while Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson and Marcus Stoinis took two wickets each to derail India's run chase and win their first ODI series since January 2017.

Rohit Sharma top-scored for the hosts with 56 runs while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (46) and Kedar Jadhav made 44 but the rest of batsmen failed to score above 20 as India became the only side to lose an ODI series (of five or more matches) on two occasions after leading 2-0.

"...If you look at the overall series Australia played with more passion, hunger and heart and they deserved to win. They were brave in pressure situations compared to our game, especially in the last 3 games, the way they handled the pressure, they really deserved to win," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Kohli though, was not overtly worried with the defeat and said India would look to focus on the good times they have had over the last one year. He said Australia played in India exactly the way India played Down Under where they won a Test and ODI series in Australia before winning an ODI series in New Zealand.

"It's exactly how we played in Australia. We were braver in pressure situations purely because they had a series to lose at home and we went out there and expressed ourselves. You have to give credit to them; they are a younger side and they showed more heart than us. Winning a series like that in India is good for their confidence. We know we didn't play as well as they did," Kohli said at the post-match press conference.