Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. (Photo Source: NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images)
Australia drew level in the three-match series after hammering the home side in one of the most one-sided contests on Indian soil. There was no place to hide for the Indian batters as Mitchell Starc’s glittering five-for bundled out the hosts for an embarrassing total of 117 runs. Mitchell Marsh’s explosive 28-ball half-century blew away the Indian bowlers in the second innings as Australia completed an emphatic ten-wicket victory to draw level in the three-match series.
The target set by Rohit Sharma’s team was never going to challenge the Aussies and a mind-boggling start by the explosive pair of Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh extinguished all hopes of an unlikely Indian fightback. Marsh, who was in rollicking form in the previous ODI, wasted no time in the second ODI.
Travis Head joined the party soon after, smashing Mohammed Siraj for four consecutive boundaries as the Australia openers compiled a fifty-run stand for the first wicket in just the sixth over of the chase. It felt more like a T20 match as the Australian openers were going at a rate of knots against a clueless Indian bowling unit, chasing down the target in just 11 overs with ten wickets to spare.
Indian batters surrendered meekly against the menacing Mitchell Starc
The Australian team led by Steve Smith won the toss for a second match running and decided to bowl this time around on a lively surface in Visakhapatnam. Young Indian opener Shubman Gill was accompanied by the returning Rohit Sharma at the top of the order.
Australian star pacer Mitchell Starc, who was in a menacing mood in the ODI series opener, wasted no time in the second ODI as Gill succumbed in the first over of the match after playing a loose shot, just like in Mumbai. Rohit steadied the ship for the home side with a decent stand with Virat Kohli. But the Indian skipper also fell prey to Starc in a frenetic start to the match.
It went from bad to worse for the hosts as Suryakumar Yadav, for a second match running, was dismissed for a golden duck by the left-arm pacer. Last match’s hero KL Rahul became the fourth victim of the Aussie bowler as the tourists made a sensational start to the match. The wicket of the well-set Kohli was a big blow as India’s hopes of setting a competitive total took a massive dent.
Despite a fighting knock from Axar Patel, India were bundled out for their third-lowest total against the Aussies in ODIs and their fourth-lowest total on home soil. Starc was the bane of Indian batters’ existence, as he grabbed a terrific five-for, his ninth in 50-over cricket.