On Sunday, Australia made a very strong come back in the three match ODI series with a 10 wickets win in just 11 overs in the second ODI, here in YS Raja Reddy Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam.
Marsh’s unbeaten 66 off 36 while Head played a superb knock of 51* off 30 deliveries. Indian bowlers failed to take any wicket and handed Australia an easy win with veteran pacer Mohammed Shami conceding 29 runs. Australia chased down the target in the 11th over of the match. With this win, Australia levelled the three-match series 1-1.
Chasing a low total of 118, Australia got off to a flying start as their openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head slammed Indian blowers all around the ground from early in the innings.
The batting pair of Marsh and Head were decisive in their approach and made the Indian bowlers toil hard making merry of the excellent batting conditions on offer. The Aussie duo hammered Mohammed Shami for 16 runs with the help of two maximums and one four. In the 6th over of the game, Head single-headedly hammered Mohammed Siraj for back-to-back four boundaries, bringing up his team’s total beyond the 50-run mark.
The Aussie batters rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the Indian bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
The carnage by Aussie batters continued as Marsh single-headedly slammed Hardik Pandya for 18 runs with the help of three sixes. Marsh continued the carnage and brought up his 28-ball half-century in the 8th over of the game.
In the 10th over of the game, the duo took their team’s total beyond the 100-run mark. Head also brought up his half-century in 29 balls.
In the 11th over of the game, Marsh slammed a stunning four to guide his team home with a 10-wicket victory over India.
Earlier, Mitchell Starc produced one of the best bowling spells as he dismantled the Indian batting line-up, bundling Men in Blue for 117 in the second ODI match.
The veteran Australian fast bowler broke the opening partnership in his third ball and the first over of the match. Starc lured Shubman Gill to play a shot in the offside. Rohit Sharma and ViratKohli tried to overcome the early loss and switched to attacking mode. Their plan of the onslaught on Australian bowlers did work well for some time. However, Starc made a comeback in the fifth over of the match. The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma lost his wicket in a similar fashion, and Starc once again lured Rohit Sharma to play a shot on the offside. The Indian opener tried to play a cover drive but his bat only met the dust, and the edge of his bat met the ball. The ball travelled straight to Steve Smith at a lightning pace, but the Australia skipper didn’t make any mistake as he adjusted himself in a split second and held on to the ball.
After Rohit Sharma’s wicket, the Blues started to lose wickets at regular intervals. ViratKohli held on to his wicket at one end but the rest of the players found it hard to adjust to the pitch conditions.