NEW DELHI: India pacer Harshit Rana's place in the ODI team had come under scrutiny, with head coach Gautam Gambhir facing backlash over alleged nepotism. However, the young bowler silenced his critics with a match-winning performance in the third and final ODI against Australia at the SCG on Saturday.

His career-best figures of 4/39 in 8.4 overs helped India bowl out Australia for 236. In reply, Rohit Sharma (121 ) and Virat Kohli (74) put together a 168-run stand off just 170 balls for the second wicket, guiding India to victory in 38.3 overs.

In a video posted by the BCCI on social media, Gambhir was seen lavishing praise on Rana for his outstanding spell, emphasising the importance of staying humble as a long journey lay ahead of him.

"Special mention to Harshit, that was an outstanding spell," Gautam Gambhir said in a video posted by BCCI.tv.

"What I want to say is stay humble, stay grounded, keep working hard. It's just the start, it's not the end," he added.

The young pacer endured a rough start to the series in Perth and Adelaide, and his selection for the Sydney ODI ahead of left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh once again placed him under the spotlight.

The right-arm pacer also joined former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the most wickets by an Indian after eight ODIs, with both having taken 16 wickets. Ajit Agarkar and Prasidh Krishna share the top spot with 19 wickets each, followed by Jasprit Bumrah with 17.

Speaking to Fox Cricket, Rana said that playing for India is a huge honour. He added that while he enjoys all formats of the game, ODIs hold a special significance for him.

"I love playing all formats. It's an honour to play for Team India, but personally, I love ODI cricket more," he said.