Mitchell
Starc's haul of 6/43, his best haul in ODIs, was the key in giving
Australia their second win in the tri-series.
Before
the start of the ODI series, there were plenty of questions regarding
the capability of the Indian bowlers at the death. In their first match
of the tri-series, India's bowlers answered some questions but it was
not enough as they ended up losing a close match against Australia by
four wickets with one over to spare at Melbourne on Sunday.
Chasing 268, Australia were superbly placed at 218/3 in the 40th over with Aaron Finch batting on 96. However, India had found an opening when Umesh Yadav snapped up the wicket of Finch for 96. From that moment, Yadav, along with Mohammed Shami, bowled with pace, hostility and accuracy to dry the flow of runs. The pressure built by the pace bowlers yielded results for R Ashwin in the 44th over by having George Bailey stumped for five. Slowly, India were clawing their way back into the match and the pressure was on Australia. However, in the last two balls, Glenn Maxwell struck a four and a six to ease the pressure.
In the next over, Shami went off injured and Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued the over and he got the big wicket off Maxwell. Axar Patel conceded just four runs in the 48th over and the equation read 15 runs off 12 balls. However, the experience of Brad Haddin and the calmness of James Faulkner helped Australia cross the line to secure their second win in the tournament.
Earlier, chasing 268, David Warner and Finch made a brisk start. Umesh Yadav was all over the place in his first over and missed his lengths frequently. Bowling either too short or on the pads, Yadav conceded 13 runs in his first over and Australia had the ideal start. However, Yadav struck in the first ball of his second spell when Warner miscued a slog to cover and Suresh Raina hung on. Shane Watson (41) struck some lusty blows but in trying to maintain the aggression, he perished to Axar Patel by missing the slog sweep.
Finch scored his sixth ODI fifty and along with Steven Smith put Australia in a comfortable position. India's bowlers failed to build pressure and runs were conceded at ease. In the batting Powerplay, Australia managed 22 runs but Shami gave India the breakthrough when he broke the 101-run stand by having Smith caught at midwicket. This wicket galvanized India and they put in a performance at the death with the ball that would have gladdened the hearts of the fans.
Australia seemed to have wrested the initiative in the first half of the match when Mitchell Starc picked up a career-best haul of 6/43 to limit the damage caused after Rohit Sharma's magnificent 138. Starc's wonderful effort pushed Rohit's sixth ODI century in the background and India finished on 267/8, their highest ODI score batting first at the MCG.
India chose to bat on a flat deck and they went in to the game with two spinners while Australia handed a debut to Gurinder Sandhu, the tall New South Wales bowler currently playing for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League. Starc, who had taken two wickets in the first over against England in Sydney, struck again in the first over when he had Shikhar Dhawan (2) driving away from his body only to be caught by Aaron Finch at second slip. Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli, the two batsmen who scored centuries at the same venue in the Tests and were part of a record partnership, struggled against the discipline of the Australian bowlers.
Sandhu struck in his second over when he had Rahane caught behind for 12 while James Faulkner struck the big blow when he had Kohli top-edging a pull to mid on for nine. However, Rohit continued to hold firm and displayed immense confidence in his strokeplay. He punished deliveries which were short and drove with ease. Both Rohit and Raina were rotating the strike well and the scoring rate increased. Rohit brought up his fifty by dancing down the track to Faulkner and depositing him into the stands at deep midwicket.
As the partnership grew, tempers also started to flare. In the final ball of the 22nd over, Rohit pushed the ball to mid off where he was contemplating taking a single but decided against it. He planted his bat down at the last moment and the ball brushed his thigh pad and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin could not collect the ball. Rohit took the single but Glenn Maxwell, along with Warner, protested with the umpires. Warner and Rohit exchanged words and the officials had to step in to separate the pair.
Raina (51) scored his 33rd ODI fifty, his first in Australia but the 126-run stand was broken when he mistimed to mid off. The batting Powerplay resulted in only 19 runs for India as Australia pulled things back. Rohit continued to target the Australian bowlers and brought up his first century in Australia. In fact, it was his third ODI ton against Australia and his second consecutive against them, following his epic 209 during the seventh ODI in Bangalore in October 2013.
Starc came back in the 44th over and made an impact. He had MS Dhoni playing back onto the stumps for 19 and two balls later, trapped Axar Patel for 0 with a delivery that swung back in sharply. The double-wicket maiden gave Australia plenty of relief and India struggled to close the innings. Starc came back in the 49th over and snapped up Rohit for 138 off 139 balls to pick up his fourth five-wicket haul. In the next ball, he cleaned up Bhuvneshwar Kumar to finish with the best figures by an Australian bowler at the MCG.
Brief scores: India 267/8 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 138, Suresh Raina 51, Mitchell Starc 6/43) lost to Australia 269/6 in 49 overs (Aaron Finch 96, Steven Smith 47, Umesh Yadav 2/55) by four wickets.
Chasing 268, Australia were superbly placed at 218/3 in the 40th over with Aaron Finch batting on 96. However, India had found an opening when Umesh Yadav snapped up the wicket of Finch for 96. From that moment, Yadav, along with Mohammed Shami, bowled with pace, hostility and accuracy to dry the flow of runs. The pressure built by the pace bowlers yielded results for R Ashwin in the 44th over by having George Bailey stumped for five. Slowly, India were clawing their way back into the match and the pressure was on Australia. However, in the last two balls, Glenn Maxwell struck a four and a six to ease the pressure.
In the next over, Shami went off injured and Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued the over and he got the big wicket off Maxwell. Axar Patel conceded just four runs in the 48th over and the equation read 15 runs off 12 balls. However, the experience of Brad Haddin and the calmness of James Faulkner helped Australia cross the line to secure their second win in the tournament.
Earlier, chasing 268, David Warner and Finch made a brisk start. Umesh Yadav was all over the place in his first over and missed his lengths frequently. Bowling either too short or on the pads, Yadav conceded 13 runs in his first over and Australia had the ideal start. However, Yadav struck in the first ball of his second spell when Warner miscued a slog to cover and Suresh Raina hung on. Shane Watson (41) struck some lusty blows but in trying to maintain the aggression, he perished to Axar Patel by missing the slog sweep.
Finch scored his sixth ODI fifty and along with Steven Smith put Australia in a comfortable position. India's bowlers failed to build pressure and runs were conceded at ease. In the batting Powerplay, Australia managed 22 runs but Shami gave India the breakthrough when he broke the 101-run stand by having Smith caught at midwicket. This wicket galvanized India and they put in a performance at the death with the ball that would have gladdened the hearts of the fans.
Australia seemed to have wrested the initiative in the first half of the match when Mitchell Starc picked up a career-best haul of 6/43 to limit the damage caused after Rohit Sharma's magnificent 138. Starc's wonderful effort pushed Rohit's sixth ODI century in the background and India finished on 267/8, their highest ODI score batting first at the MCG.
India chose to bat on a flat deck and they went in to the game with two spinners while Australia handed a debut to Gurinder Sandhu, the tall New South Wales bowler currently playing for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League. Starc, who had taken two wickets in the first over against England in Sydney, struck again in the first over when he had Shikhar Dhawan (2) driving away from his body only to be caught by Aaron Finch at second slip. Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli, the two batsmen who scored centuries at the same venue in the Tests and were part of a record partnership, struggled against the discipline of the Australian bowlers.
Sandhu struck in his second over when he had Rahane caught behind for 12 while James Faulkner struck the big blow when he had Kohli top-edging a pull to mid on for nine. However, Rohit continued to hold firm and displayed immense confidence in his strokeplay. He punished deliveries which were short and drove with ease. Both Rohit and Raina were rotating the strike well and the scoring rate increased. Rohit brought up his fifty by dancing down the track to Faulkner and depositing him into the stands at deep midwicket.
As the partnership grew, tempers also started to flare. In the final ball of the 22nd over, Rohit pushed the ball to mid off where he was contemplating taking a single but decided against it. He planted his bat down at the last moment and the ball brushed his thigh pad and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin could not collect the ball. Rohit took the single but Glenn Maxwell, along with Warner, protested with the umpires. Warner and Rohit exchanged words and the officials had to step in to separate the pair.
Raina (51) scored his 33rd ODI fifty, his first in Australia but the 126-run stand was broken when he mistimed to mid off. The batting Powerplay resulted in only 19 runs for India as Australia pulled things back. Rohit continued to target the Australian bowlers and brought up his first century in Australia. In fact, it was his third ODI ton against Australia and his second consecutive against them, following his epic 209 during the seventh ODI in Bangalore in October 2013.
Starc came back in the 44th over and made an impact. He had MS Dhoni playing back onto the stumps for 19 and two balls later, trapped Axar Patel for 0 with a delivery that swung back in sharply. The double-wicket maiden gave Australia plenty of relief and India struggled to close the innings. Starc came back in the 49th over and snapped up Rohit for 138 off 139 balls to pick up his fourth five-wicket haul. In the next ball, he cleaned up Bhuvneshwar Kumar to finish with the best figures by an Australian bowler at the MCG.
Brief scores: India 267/8 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 138, Suresh Raina 51, Mitchell Starc 6/43) lost to Australia 269/6 in 49 overs (Aaron Finch 96, Steven Smith 47, Umesh Yadav 2/55) by four wickets.
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