India v Australia ODI: New-look line-up creates World Cup selection dilemmas
The performance of a host of World Cup hopefuls means when the time comes to name Australia’s 15-player squad, selectors will face more debate about who to leave out than who to select.
Injuries have demanded one-day experimentation in India and the results have given Australian selectors more than food for thought after a second match demolition of the home side in game two of the series.
While Mitchell Starc was the matchwinner and equalled a record he already held with a withering spell of fast bowling as the tourists inflicted India’s biggest ODI defeat at home, the efforts around him were telling.
Opening the batting as David Warner again looked on from the sidelines, Mitchell Marsh was near unstoppable for a second straight game as he and Travis Head reeled in the meagre target of 117 without losing a wicket.
While Head was seen as the likely replacement for retired captain Aaron Finch at the top of the order, through two games in India Marsh has shown himself to be a weapon going in first too.
He’s pounded 11 sixes in scores of 81 to start the series and then an unbeaten 66, his 147 runs coming off just 101 balls, with 16 fours as well in a powerhouse display of batting.
India captain Rohit Sharma was effusive in his praise for the big-hitting Marsh who now looms as a potential World Cup opener.
“Definitely in the top three, top four when it comes to power,” Sharma said.
“You saw, he could just stand and deliver and play the shots. He backs himself to do that.”
But before Marsh went berserk Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis, playing in the absence of skipper Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, took three and two wickets respectively, ensuring when time comes to pick Australia’s 15-player squad for the World Cup in India later this year, selectors will face more debate about who to leave out than who to pick.
Starc, who took his ninth five-wicket haul in ODI cricket, a number surpassed by only two bowlers in the history of the game, said it was hard to not be pleased with such a dominant win knowing that the World Cup is never far from their thoughts.
“Every series is a chance to perform for your country but with one eye on the World Cup, obviously with particular conditions and obviously playing against India that’s one, I guess, by-product of this series, “ he said.
“The other is still it’s still a one day series against India in India, which we want to win.
“And then once obviously we get past that game and then probably more focus on the World Cup, there’s parts of this series which will be World Cup in the back of your mind.
“But I think predominantly for this group, it’s still a chance to win a one-day series in India, which is pretty special.”
The white-ball weaponry of Starc continues to be key for any Australian limited overs success.
He took four wickets in the opening 10 overs of the Indian innings, and he’s the only Australian bowler ever to do that, having done it once before in Perth.
The 33-year-old, who was a late starter on tour after overcoming a finger injury, said his plan in ODI cricket “probably hasn‘t changed for 13 years” and remained as effective as ever.
“Bowl full, hit the stumps, try and swing it,” Starc said.
“I think the that’s just been my role for a long time is to try and take wickets upfront in the powerplay.
“At times that means I’m probably more expensive, but I’m trying to bring in almost a dismissal.
“It’s something I’ve done for a long time is to try and be aggressive and take wickets in the powerplay, and I think our whole bowling attack did that today when we have six wickets in the powerplay.
“That’s a big step forward in one-day cricket when obviously you got a powerhouse batting line-up that India do have, if you can take wickets in the powerplay it means we’re sort of controlling the game in some respects, which is what we did today, which was really great to see.”
Game three of the series is in Chennai on Wednesday.
‘BEST IN THE WORLD’: STARC UNLEASHES IN HISTORIC WIN
Mitchell Starc returned figures of 5-53 with his excellent swing and seam to power Australia to a series-levelling 10-wicket win over India in the second one-day international.
Left-arm quick Starc rattled the Indian batting with his pace and swing to bundle out the opposition for just 117 in only 26 overs in Visakhapatnam.
Openers Travis Head, who hit 51, and Mitchell Marsh, who smashed 66 off 36 balls, then took apart the Indian bowling to romp home in 11 overs.
Australia finished the chase with 39 overs to spare and bounce back from their opening defeat to hand India their biggest ODI loss in terms of balls remaining.
Starc led the team’s lethal attack with the wicket of Shubman Gill for a duck after the tourists decided to bowl first after overnight rain.
“It was a great day for us,” man of the match Starc told broadcasters Star Sports.
“I think the bowling unit was pretty spot on. I guess the conditions helped the ball swing a bit but I think we bowled really good areas. We were probably on the more aggressive side when we started to get a few wickets in the powerplay.”
Marsh, who stood out with his blazing knock that included six fours and six sixes, praised Starc.
“It was a pleasure to watch. You know what he can do with the white-ball, especially when he is swinging it. He is the best in the world,” said Marsh.
Two successive strikes from Starc to get returning skipper Rohit Sharma for 13 and then Suryakumar Yadav, out for a second straight first-ball duck, pushed India onto the back foot.
- ‘Superman’ Smith -
KL Rahul played out the hat-trick ball but lasted for just 11 more deliveries before falling leg before wicket to Starc, who returned figures of 4-31 in his first spell of six overs.
Skipper Steve Smith took a stunning one-handed catch at first slip to dismiss Hardik Pandya for one off the bowling of Sean Abbott, who took three wickets.
Smith went full stretch to his right and was airborne when he took the catch off an edge from Pandya, setting social media abuzz with praise for his “superman” effort.
Virat Kohli attempted to hit back for India with a score of 31 that included four boundaries before he was trapped in front by Nathan Ellis.
Wickets kept tumbling and the departure of Ravindra Jadeja, the hero from Friday’s first match in Mumbai, for 16 off the bowling of Ellis added to India’s woes.
Starc wrapped up the innings with his ninth ODI five-wicket haul. Axar Patel, who came into the team in place of Shardul Thakur, was unbeaten on 29 after hitting two sixes.
“He is a quality bowler. He’s been doing it for years for Australia with the new ball,” Rohit said of Starc. “We kept falling to his strength. Failure was from our batsmen.” The left-handed Head and Marsh came out firing as they smashed Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami to all parts of the ground.
Head began the attack with two straight boundaries off Siraj and Marsh soon joined the charge with a string of fours and huge sixes, one of them into the second tier of the packed stands.
Marsh, who hit 81 in his team’s opening loss, hit two straight sixes off Pandya to reach his fifty off 28 balls.
Head soon raised his fifty and Marsh hit the winning boundary to take the series decider to Chennai on Wednesday.fk/stu/mca
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