Starc’s five-for, Marsh-Head century stand sink India for 1-1

Mitchell Starc produced a masterclass in new-ball swing bowling before openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head hammered rapid fifties to complete a knockout performance against India and level the series 1-1. India received a thrashing like no other in Visakhapatnam – their heaviest defeat in terms of balls remaining – when they were bowled out for 117 in just 26 overs.

Starc was the tormentor in chief with his 5 for 53, his ninth five-for in ODIs, and gave Marsh and Head freedom to bat with no scoreboard pressure; Marsh raced to 28-ball fifty before Head got to his in 29 balls and Australia chased the target down in just 11 overs.

Starc got deliveries to swing in as well as angle across to the right-hand batters in equal measure. His work up top allowed Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis to join hands and run through the lower middle order thereafter. In all, the Australian bowlers were done with their shift inside two hours and 20 minutes, with the three seamers sharing all ten wickets.

When Starc got the deliveries to angle across, he tempted Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma to drive away from their bodies, only for both to get dismissed cheaply. Gill was the first to go, out for a duck in the first over, when he chased a full and wide delivery and drove to point, in what was a repeat of his dismissal from the Mumbai ODI. Rohit, returning to the side in place of Ishan Kishan, was out in the fifth over. He had had moved to 13 by relying on leg-side flicks, but then swung big against a wide ball to edge to first slip.

Suryakumar Yadav walked in looking to make up for his first-ball duck from the first ODI, but he suffered the same fate when Starc swing the ball into him again, and had him lbw for another golden duck. In what was another repeat from the first ODI, KL Rahul came in trying to survive a hat-trick delivery. He did that successfully, but could not last too much longer. The half-centurion from the previous game was also trapped lbw by Starc, on 9, with another inswinging delivery that got him missing a shot across the line.

At 48 for 4, India needed a recovery job, but that wouldn’t come. Abbott got a length ball to bounce a bit more and Hardik Pandya poked at it only to see Steven Smith take a stunning one-handed diving catch at first slip to rock them further. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja tried to resurrect the innings, but they failed as well this time. Kohli was trapped lbw by Ellis when, on 31, he swiped across the line to a full ball, and didn’t bother reviewing the on-field decision. Ellis then came around the wicket to get Jadeja edging a catch to the wicketkeeper Alex Carey. At 91 for 7, India were on the mat and the crowd was completely silenced.(cricinfo)

Scores:

India 117 all out in 26 overs (Virat Kohli  31; Mitchell Starc 5/53, Sean Abbott 3/23)

Australia 121 for no loss in 11 overs (Travis Head  51 n.o., Mitchell Marsh 66 n.o.)