Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc took record ninth five wicket haul in one-day international cricket as his side thrashed India by a huge margin of 10 wickets in the second one-day international played at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Mitchell Starc was once again devastating for the Indian batters as he produced yet another quality display of left-arm fast bowling, destroying the Indian top order to record his ninth five wicket haul in ODI cricket, reaching the top spot which he now shares with Brett Lee for taking most five wicket hauls in the format.
Among other bowlers, right I’m fast bowler Sean Abbott took three wickets while Nathan Ellis took to yes Australia bowled out India for just 117 in 26 overs. India recorded their fourth lowest total in ODI cricket so far whereas the total of 117 was the third lowest ever against Australia in history.
Chasing a small total, Australia openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head showed no discomfort as they hammered these runs in just 11 overs to help Australia record a series levelling victory, after they were beaten by five wickets in the first ODI by India in Mumbai on last Friday.
Mitchell Marsh was in top form with the bat, striking six sixes and as many fours to make 66 not out from just 36 balls whereas Travis Head hit 10 fours to make 51 not out from 30 balls to help their side record a massive victory in a must win contest played on Sunday under the threat of cyclone and rains.
The tone of victory was set early on in the contest by Mitchell Starc who dismissed Rohit Sharma for 13, Shubman Gill for 0, Suryakumar Yadav for 0, KL Rahul for 9 and lastly, Mohammed Siraj for 0. On the other hand, Sean Abbott got the rid of Hardik Pandya for 1, Kuldeep Yadav for 4, Mohammed Shami for 0.
Virat Kohli was the only batsman who could make some runs against the Australian bowlers as the right-handed batting legend scored 31 from 35 balls with the help of four boundaries whereas towards the end, all-rounder Akshar Patel hit two sixes against Mitchell Starc to finish unbeaten on 29 from 29 balls with the help of two sixes and one boundary.
Earlier in the first match of the series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India were made to work hard for a narrow victory after Australia were bowled out for just 188.
Australia opener Mitchell Marsh provided a strong start making 81 runs from 65 balls but the other batsmen could not get runs as Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj took three wickets each to help India bowl out the opposition for a cheap score in the first match of the series.
The home team made a poor start with the bat losing four wickets for 39 runs after 10 overs when Captain Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul got together to control the damage. And even after Hardik Pandya fell, KL Rahul found a strong support man in Ravindra Jadeja, as the batsmen added 108 runs for the sixth wicket to help India to an important victory in the series opener.
India and Australia will now go to Chennai to play the third and final ODI of the series on March 22 after which the players will get busy in preparing for the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League, which starts on March 31.