Australia ravaged by cricket fans after ‘terrible’ scenes against India
Another day, another shocking collapse for Australia in India. This time it came in the series launch ODI cricket Match in Mumbai when the Aussies missed a promising start and suffered a five-wicket defeat.
India overcame a scintillating spell from Mitchell Starc (3-49) who connected with Marcus Stoinis (2-27) to break through India’s slamming attack before a late rally brought the hosts home on 61 balls. Mitch Marsh hit the highest with 81 balls from 65 to set Australia for a competitive total.
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However, a catastrophic middle-order collapse saw the Aussies lose their last six wickets for just 19 runs, as they were thrown out for just 188 runs. It was an all-too-familiar sight for Australia’s batters on this tour of India, with similarly worrying breakdowns seen in the recently concluded four-game Test series between the two cricket powerhouses.
Marsh cracked 10 fours and five sixes to create an excellent platform for Australia after sending the visitors batting. But Marsh’s exit in the 20th over resulted in a stunning 8-59 collapse as Australia slipped from 2-129 to go all-out in 35.4 overs.
Josh Inglis (26), Steve Smith (22), Marnus Labuschagne (15) and Cameron Green (12) all started uncomfortably.
Glenn Maxwell, who is playing his first cap since breaking his left leg in November, has been out eight times after his attempt went awry. Indian paceman Mohammed Shami was the main destroyer at 3-17 from six overs while Mohammed Siraj caught at 3-29.
“We didn’t expect that when we rocked, these are usually pretty high scores here,” said Australia’s reserve skipper Steve Smith. “I thought India bowled really well. We probably left a few out there.
“I think if we went past 250 it could have been an interesting game. We were just one partnership away from them beating us and Jadeja and Rahul showed how it’s done.”
The cricket world was equally perplexed by Australia’s epic collapse. Many fans described the scenes as “terrifying” and were overwhelmed by the drastic nature of the Aussie meltdown after such a rousing start.
India cruise to victory after shocking start
India’s chase got off to a terrible start as the hosts staggered at 4-39 and 5-83 after Starc and Stoinis rattled through their batting lineup. However, a 108-run stand between KL Rahul (75 none from 91 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (45 none from 69 balls) led India to a comfortable victory in the end. The result gave India a 1-0 lead in the three-game series, with game two being played in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Stoinis batted in the second over to remove Ishan Kishan lbw for three before a devastating spell from Starc put the visitors ahead. Left-arm fast-catching superstar Virat Kohli (four) lbw with a peachy delivery, then Suryakumar Yadav sent the next ball to 3:16 to shorten the hosts.
Rahul negotiated the hat-trick ball with a nice cover drive for a four, but Starc wasn’t done yet. Shubman Gill (20) was on two when he was dropped out of the bowling by Starc by wicketkeeper Josh Inglis.
Starc eventually got his man, with Marnus Labuschagne making a sharp catch. At this point, Starc had numbers ranging from 3-20.
When reserve skipper Hardik Pandya (25) hooked Stoinis at depth with Cameron Green, India was 5-83 and looking shaky. But from there, Rahul and Jadeja took control of the game, with their enduring partnership ensuring India rode to victory.
with AAP
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