Australia crushed India by 10 wickets in the second One-Day International at the YS Raja Reddy Cricket Stadium in Vishakapatnam on Sunday to equalize the three-match series 1-1.
Australia stunned India in the second ODI on Sunday, defeating the hosts by a startling 10-wicket margin after bowling them out for a pitiful 117 in 26 overs. With the ball seaming and swinging wildly, Indian batters had no chance to settle down against the fierce Australian bowling attack especially Mitchell Starc, who secured his eighth five-wicket haul in ODIs. The only Indian batsman to score more than 20 runs were Virat Kohli (31) and Axar Patel (29 not out).
Australia’s aggressive bowling attack demolishes India in 2nd ODI
Shubman Gill was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Australian bowler Mitchell Starc early in the first over. The bowler then struck again in the fifth over to get rid of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. India’s captain Rohit, who had to miss his country’s five-wicket victory in the first game of the series owing to family obligations, was caught at slip for 13 and the explosive Suryakumar was bowled out on the very next ball, leaving India in trouble at 32-3 after five overs.
KL Rahul, the hero of the previous match, was also overshadowed by Starc’s brilliance as he was caught in lbw for 9 runs before Hardik Pandya was removed for just 1 run by Sean Abbott. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja appeared to be the team’s go-to rescuers in difficult situations. They even formed a brief partnership, but it was short-lived as Nathan Ellis removed the in-form Virat Kohli with a brilliant delivery before Ravindra Jadeja fell to Sean Abbot in the 20th over.
After that, Abbott struck twice to get rid of Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav in the same over before Starc got rid of Mohammed Siraj for his fifth wicket in the 26th over to put an end to the Indian innings. Axar Patel delivered some ferocious hits and scored an unbroken 29 runs, but he did not receive the needed assistance, as India was vanquished for just 117 runs.
The Australian openers, who were chasing 118, came out swinging and hammered Indian bowlers all over the park to reach 121/0 in 11 overs. The bowlers showcased sheer incompetence as Marsh and Head each scored blistering half-centuries to win the match in just 11 overs. With six fours and six sixes, Mitchell Marsh pounded out an undefeated 66 runs off 36 balls. Travis Head, meanwhile, scored 51 runs off 30 balls in an undefeated performance that included 10 fours.
The series move to the decider:
After winning one match each, Australia and India move to the series finale to decide the winner of the Border Gavaskar ODI series. The final game will be played on March 22 in Chennai’s M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, which is notorious for hosting high-scoring contests. Given that the ICC World Cup 2024 is only a few months away, both countries’ elite teams will give it their all to win the decisive and solidify their dominance on a global scale.
India’s squad for the third ODI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami
Australia’s squad for the third ODI: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey(w), Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.