Enjoying a 4-0 lead with the final ODI to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, Hastings said that his team does not want to miss the advantage.
Kane Richardson may have won the man of the match award for his career-best 5/68 in Australia's dramatic 25-run win over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Team India in the fourth ODI in Canberra on Thursday.
But it was the New South Wales-born Victorian right-arm medium-pacer John Hastings, who gave the vital breakthroughs by dismissing Shikhar Dhawan and Dhoni in the space of four deliveries to trigger an Indian collapse just when the visitors were sighting victory at that stage.
The 30-year-old Hastings finished with 2/50, the most economical figures in the entire match. He said on Friday after the Australian team arrived in Sydney from Canberra by road, stopping over at the Bradman Museum in Bowral on the way, that the Aussies “desperately want to win 5-0”.
Enjoying a 4-0 lead with the final ODI to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, Hastings said that his team does not want to miss the advantage.
“We can get a little advantage over the opposition, especially at home. There have been times when we go over to India and they have had the wood on us. So, we are definitely looking to go 5-0 up and that will be a massive priority for us,” Hastings said.
Hastings, who made his ODI debut in 2010 but has featured in only 16 ODIs, has been a key bowler for the Aussies in this series. He took 4/58 in the third ODI in Melbourne.
Hastings, whose 18 ODI sticks include dismissing Dhoni twice for nought, said that it was the belief in winning that did the turnaround at the Manuka Oval. “From 277/1 (India's score), needing 72 to win at a run a ball chasing 349, (for us) to turn it around and take nine for 46 was an amazing effort. This goes to show this game is a funny game and you never know what is going to happen as long as you hang in there and have that belief, which I think we do at the moment. Anything can happen, so it was amazing,” he said.
“There are not so many games where, in that scenario, the batting team would probably lose. We were just laughing and joking and hoped that they'd play and miss and (let) one that goes into the hand. They did, and that turned around. Once we got those one or two wickets, we got that sniff. We jumped all over and that's what good teams do. (Captain) Steve Smith was brilliant. He put the slips in. That was a masterstroke and also keeping the quicks going.”
Just when Shikhar Dhawan was looking good to guide India home alongwith fellow centurion Virat Kohli, he cut Hastings straight to George Bailey at point. Three balls later, Hastings's leg-cutter forced Dhoni to nick to Matthew Wade's gloves. That proved to be the turning point.
Kohli hit Richardson straight to mid-off soon after and the rest fell like a pack of cards.
Speaking about his role in the team, Hastings said: “My job was pretty simple – just run in there and try to keep it as simple as possible. And try and do the team role. To get those couple of wickets was great but the way Kane Richardson fought back there after we both copped a bit of stick and getting hit around the park a little bit earlier, and the way he (Richardson) came back and delivered to get a five-for was great. He is going from strength to strength.
“It was an amazing night. The wicket seemed to get better. Our good balls were getting hit for four and our bad balls were also getting hit for four. When that happens, to come back like that was great. At one stage, it looked like they (Indian batsmen) could never hit the field, it was going through the field, head high or whatever. All of a sudden, they seemed to start hitting the fielders. That's why cricket is a pretty funny game. Sometimes it can turn on its head and we just have to hang in there and get the reward.”
Hastings admitted that it was tough for visitors to play in Australia. “For teams coming out here, they know it is a hard place to play. The good thing we have got going at the moment is we played the home World Cup and won that. Now, we are 4-0 up in the series against India. So we are playing some good cricket. For me not to be part of most of that, there's certainly a lot of self belief in the team at the moment.” he said.
Hastings said that he was also looking ahead of the three T20 Internationals against India beginning on January 26.
John Hastings this series:
2/50 in 10 overs in Canberra (4th ODI)
4/58 in 10 overs in Melbourne (3rd ODI)
1/46 in 8 overs Brisbane (2nd ODI)
ODI career:
16 matches, 18 wickets, 4/58 best figures, 35.61 average, 4.73 economy rate
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