India vs Australia, 2nd ODI, 2022-23, Top Performances: Mitchell Starc’s 5-53, Nathan Ellis’ 2-13 and Mitchell Marsh-Travis Head’s 121-run stand are top performances. Australia beat India and equalise the three match series by 1-1.
Brief Scores: India 117 (Kohli 31, Axar 29, Starc 5-53, Abbott 3-23) lost to Australia 121-0 (Marsh 66*, Head 51*) by 10 wickets
Player of the Match: Mitchell Starc – 5-53
After a thrilling low-scoring encounter in the first ODI, India and Australia moved to the second ODI down south-east towards Visakhapatnam. After winning the toss, Steven Smith had no doubts bowling first on this wicket which was under the covers for two days due to rain and the moisture suggested some early swing for the fast bowlers. Both the sides had two changes, Alex Carey and Nathan Ellis replaced Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell respectively. For India too, full-time captain, Rohit Sharma was back in the squad for Ishan Kishan and Shardul Thakur made way for Axar Patel.
Left-arm pace creates havoc for India, again!
India’s batters threw the white towel once again, against the left-arm angle coming back into the right handers. In other news, the sky was yellow not blue in Vishakhapatnam as Mitchell Starc dismantled India in the powerplay. Every time Indian setup did not have a left arm pacer in their nets, the batters struggled. We saw a trailer in the first ODI of things to come but the rigid management with their ego as high as the Mount Everest didn’t even bother to address the lack of application. After a disappointing batting performance, Indian bowlers didn’t fight back either for even a moment as Australia cruised towards a mediocre total inside 11 overs without even losing a single wicket.
Read More: IND v Aus, 1st ODI, 2022-23: KL Rahul’s fighting 75* rescues India; hosts take 1-0 lead
Australia smother India by 10 wickets
After rain gods saved it for the spectators in Visakhapatnam, Australian bowlers ensured that the pain didn’t stop there as they rampaged through the Indian top order in the second ODI. The pitch which was under covers for two long days due to rains, was expected to show some swing early on with the new ball and who better than a lethal Mitchell Starc to exploit such conditions.
Inside the first 10 overs, India were reduced to 51-5 with all the big guns back in the pavilion with only Virat Kohli from the top 5 still at the crease. After accumulating a 22-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja, even Kohli was trapped plumb in front of the wickets by Nathan Ellis. In a matter of 26 overs, Indian innings folded with just 117 runs on the board, courtesy some tight bowling and extraordinary loose shots with none of the batters trying to even apply themselves under tough conditions. It took Australia just 26 overs in 2 hours and 20 minutes to demolish a hyped strong batting line-up of India.
A mere 118 runs to chase and the power-packed Australian lineup were licking their lips and tightening their gloves at the dug out eagerly waiting to wrap this game and move to Chennai for the series decider. Both naturally aggressive players, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh did not need any second invitation as they marched on in sports mode right from the second over of the innings. The duo didn’t even look to slow down their gears as they scored boundaries in each over from second till the 11th over to finish the game without even losing a single wicket. A complete domination and India came third in a race between two teams as Australia won with 39 overs to spare and with all their 10 wickets intact.
Let’s scan the top three performances from the Visakhapatnam ODI.
Mitchell Starc swings Indian top order back to the pavilion
Mitchell Starc went to the beaches of Visakhapatnam to have a banana smoothie just before the game began, as he swung the ball like bananas and Indian batters slipped on the in-swingers just like a toddler skid on a banana skin. Starc drew first blood dismissing Shubman Gill in a very similar fashion as the first ODI driving towards point. Second time within a span of 48 hours, Starc had preyed on Gill. After a steady 29 runs partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, which was also the highest of the match for India, Starc dismissed Rohit Sharma who went hard for a booming cover drive when the bowler pitched it full and wide outside off only to edge it to Steven Smith at first slip. This was the third time Starc dismissed Rohit in ODI cricket.
The best delivery of the match was reserved for Suryakumar Yadav as he replicated an exact carbon copy delivery from Wankhede ODI. From a left-arm angle over the wicket, the ball pitched on middle stump, curved back in from an angle to the right-hander. Surya, with a wide-open stance with a high back lift could only bring the bat down by the time the umpire had raised his finger guiding him towards the pavilion. Much like Gill, even Surya was dismissed twice inside 48 hours by Starc. Smith captalised on Starc’s rhythm and kept him on throughout inside the powerplay and he delivered by picking the star batter of first ODI, KL Rahul with yet another banana swinging in-swinger to trap him plumb in front of the wickets. Whenever the batters tried to consolidate, Starc would deliver a booming inswinger and show the way towards the pavilion to the ever so struggling Indian right handers against the left-arm angle. It was as if Indian fans were being shown nostalgic replays of 2015 ODI World Cup semi-final, 2017 Champions Trophy Final, 2019 ODI WC semi-final on loop.
Read More: Australia lead India 30-29 in ODI matches in India; A look at top games between the 2 sides in India
Nathan Ellis surprises with 2 wickets courtesy a quick arm action
When India was already down and out with 51-5 after 10 overs, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja tried to bring back the momentum by scoring some odd boundaries and the hard running between the wickets. Nathan Ellis who was brought into the attack in the 16th over of the game struck blood with his second delivery. A full and straight ball on the stumps aimed at Kohli’s pad. Kohli attempted the flick on the leg side. It was as simple as ‘you miss and I hit’ scenario and with Nitin Menon as the umpire with Kohli on-strike, it was just a matter of ball hitting the pads for the Australians.
Ellis then went on to dismiss Jadeja in the third over of his spell where the ball bounced more than Jadeja expected from short of good length. Jadeja who was trying to place the ball towards third man for a single ended up just slicing it to the wicketkeeper.
Read More: Ind vs NZ, ODIs 2023, Takeaways: India’s upper order fires but middle order seems bogged down
Travis “Headed” as Mitchell “Marshed” Australia towards victory inside 11 overs
When the asking rate is just 2.54 runs per over and with the long batting line-up of Australia, it was just a matter of time till the Visakhapatnam crowd was sent back home to enjoy some early Andhra meals. Head and Marsh drove Australia’s chase in 11th gear directly as they scored runs at 11 runs over tormenting the Indian bowlers with lack of spine all over the park. If not a healthy battle at least some kind of a battle was expected given that Australian seamers received so much help with the new ball. Australian openers hammered the ball to every side of ground turning the white ball into red in just 11 overs. With an unbeaten 121 runs partnership for the opening stand with Marsh scoring 66* and Head scoring 51*, the expected result was expedited as both the innings lasted just 37 overs.
Statistical Highlights from India vs Australia, 2nd ODI, Visakhapatnam
- Starc became the fifth bowler to pick 9 five-fors in ODIs and the quickest with 109 innings. Now only behind Waqar Younis (13) and Muthiah Muralidharan (10).
- This was the quickest a target has been chased against India in ODIs (in 11 overs), breaking New Zealand’s record of chasing in 14.4 overs.
- This was the fourth-lowest ever total for India at home and the third lowest for India vs Australia in ODIs.
What’s Next
After an embarrassing defeat in Visakhapatnam, the ODI series stands at 1-1 with the series finale to be played at a jam-packed MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to be played on March 22.
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Top Twitter reactions from India vs Australia, 2nd ODI, Visakhapatnam
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