Recovering from the loss at Mumbai, Virat Kohli & boys turned it around at Rajkot and beat Australia by 36 runs, keeping the series alive with 1-1. Let’s look back at 5 major talking points of the IND vs AUS 2nd ODI match.
1. Toss, team combination & batting order:
“People need to relax and not panic after just one game. I’m allowed to experiment and fail as well at times.” Virat Kohli said in post-match presentation after last match loss.
But with the side 0-1 down in a must-win game, you would expect Kohli to make wholesale changes and completely back away from his experiments. Wouldn’t you? Exactly what he did. Manish Pandey in for Pant was pretty much on the expected lines.
Shardul who was picked for ‘batting depth’ was dropped for Saini. And the national debate was settled once he restored himself at no.3 and guess what? KL Rahul for whom he sacrificed his no.3 position, was pushed down to no.5.
All in all that didn’t change his luck with the toss. Aaron Finch once again put India to bat despite the fact that both times sides batting first won here at this ground. The track tends to get slower even in List A games here but you can’t neglect dew advantage especially at peak winter.
2. Intent showed by Top-order:
At Wankhede, Kohli was quite critical to the top-order that they didn’t take advantage of having an upper hand & let the opposition dictate the terms. You could see there was a conscious effort to correct that mistake.
Dhawan started the proceedings with a gorgeous drive down the ground and even Rohit who usually takes some time was quite keen to run towards the bowler. Specially Dhawan wasn’t in any mood to slow down even after the powerplay.
Zampa provided Australia’s first breakthrough in the form of Rohit when the latter fell over in an attempted sweep.
And in walks, Virat Kohli at no.3 to calm the nation down & you could see what’s missing in the last match. Finch was ready to match the fire with fire and immediately put his two trump cards in the form of Zampa & Cummins on the show.
Despite all the talk of his struggle against wrist spin, Kohli was happy to take Zampa on. He eventually got out against him with the help of terrific relay catch at the boundary but not before putting India in a commanding position.
On the other side, Dhawan was quite severe against left-arm spinner which forced Finch to go for the 6th bowling option.
It was a typical Dhawan innings showing full of authority. He was quite unfortunate to miss the well-deserved hundred when he pulled a short of length straight to fine leg. But there were enough signs that despite his struggle in T20s, his days in ODIs are far from over.
3. Shreyas Iyer & KL Rahul going different routes:
When series was started, Shreyas Iyer was a certainty in middle order & KL Rahul was finding his way into middle order with no vacant place available in the opening.
But two matches later tables have turned completely. Iyer struggled to find a way against pace and bounce. Maybe when you read the scorecard you read Iyer bowled by Zampa.
But the story was a little bit different. Like the last match once again he was rattled by chin music which forced him to take chances against Zampa & paid the price eventually.
On the other side, KL Rahul played one of his best innings in a shorter form. India faced a mini-collapse losing Iyer, Kohli & Pandey in quick succession.
He not only held the innings together but never let the scoring rate down. Launching spinner down the ground, slapping a short ball over the third man but the highlight of the day when he effortlessly lofted Starc over deep extra cover.
Australian pacers kept trying short of a length, but Rahul had answers to all questions and showed why the captain is so keen to have him in XI.
4. Flying Pandey & Fastest hands approach:
Despite India put on 340 on the board, memories of Finch-Warner partnership were fresh to their minds. But there was a significant improvement in tactics.
At Wankhede, they were guilty of bowling too full in the search of swing. Here not only they pulled the length back but also quite disciplined not to give any width to Finch. Though the first breakthrough was more of a fielder’s brilliance when Manish Pandey pulled out a stunner at the cover point to send Warner back.
Just when Finch & Smith’s partnership started developing, local boy Jadeja took the center stage to get the breakthrough.
He lured the Australian captain to go for a big one and before he could drag his leg back, Rahul removed the bails in a flash. Though 3rd umpire decision divided opinions in the commentary box, it was a fine piece of stumping by Rahul. Quite Dhoni-esque in the approach with keeping his gloves close to the stumps.
5. Game-changing over & flurry of Yorkers:
With a fine partnership between Smith and Labuschagne, Australia was right back in the game. Smith was approaching the hundred & Carey just joined.
The game was poised nicely when Kuldeep delivered the game-changing over. First Carey chipped in straight to hands of short extra cover & Three balls later Smith chopped the googly into stumps falling 2 short of his hundred. In the process, Kuldeep also completed his 100 ODI wickets.
And at the end with a flurry of Yorkers, Shami & co didn’t give an inch to make any comeback. He missed another ODI hat-trick with a few inches margin after sending back Turner & Cummins in consecutive deliveries.
The third and the last ODI match of the series will be played on Sunday, January 19, 2020, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Both teams will give their best to win and will try to clinch the series. And thus it is going to be a guaranteed spectacle for all the cricket fans.
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VB says
great article Rohit!