And here’s a match report:
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Australia win by 35 runs, and win the series 2-3
An extraordinary series comeback for Australia. They’re the fifth team to go 2-0 down in a five-match series and then come back to win it. They’ve done it in India, one of the hardest countries to tour. And they’ve done it despite a dire record in the last couple of years, having barely been able to find a win in a match, let alone a series. Less than a year ago England flogged them for 481 at Trent Bridge, the world record innings score in an ODI.
Yet here we are. Australia have come back remarkably. Twice they’ve set a target and then held off an expert chasing team. And in between those wins, Australia chased 358 with several astonishing innings combining for the fifth-highest run chase in ODIs.
Pat Cummins was exceptional: 14 wickets averaging 15.71, and a wicket every 20 balls. So was Adam Zampa, with 11 wickets at 25.
Usman Khawaja made two centuries in the series and led the scoring with 383. Virat Kohli made two tons as well, and 310 all up, while Peter Handscomb came in third with 236. Ashton Turner played the innings of his life, while Glenn Maxwell had some important cameos and got through 29 overs conceding less than 6.
Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were exceptional with the ball for India, with economy rates respectively of 4.99 and 4.75 across the series. Kuldeep Yadav went at 6.04 but was the leading wicket-taker with 10.
This series has perhaps raised more questions than answers for India. At least the openers put on a big partnership, which should make sure their union is settled for the World Cup. But as for who bats where below Kohli’s spot at No3, who knows? And the best spin combination of the three options, who knows? And whether three excellent seamers will all play, who knows?
As for Australia, our email correspondent Nick Toovey summarises it well. “Similar to a previous emailer, I thought this series was overkill but it may be a turning point for Aus this year. They’ve worked out how to win from tricky situations, which in its own way can be just as a good of a sign as steamrolling the opposition. Some of the proverbial ‘good selection headaches’ coming up.”
More like endless selection speculation, though Australia have got five more games for players to lock in a spot or lock themselves out of a spot by taking on Pakistan in the UAE.
In the brief break until then, they can revel in the enjoyment of a job extremely well done, while India won’t be too concerned given they regarded this series as a chance for some tinkering. Where that tinkering will end up, we have no idea. Shankar, Jadhav, Rayudu, KL Rahul, Pant, Dhoni, Jadeja, Chahal... put them all up on a corkboard and join them with bits of coloured string. Someone will work out the pattern eventually. It’s right there... if... only... we could see it.
Thanks for your company and all your messages and emails over the series. It was most definitely an entertaining one. Until next time.
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50th over: India 237-9 (Bumrah 1) Kuldeep does get the chance for one lusty shot to start the last over, slugging into the midwicket gap for four. He wants the chance for some proper batting practice, it seems. Tries desperately to run a second when he hits to a similar spot, but can’t get back. Bumrah is able to add a rare run to his own tally though, edging a pull shot somewhere or other. So Kuldeep has the last ball to swing at, and gets none of it.
WICKET! Kuldeep b Stoinis 8 (12 balls), India all out 237
Bowled him! Middle stump after a big swing, and the Stoinis yorker does the final job from the final ball.
49th over: India 230-9 (Kuldeep 3, Bumrah 0) The last time Jasprit Bumrah came out to bat, in the previous match of this series, he thumped a six down the ground first ball. And only ball. It was the final ball of the innings. For context, he’d made 11 runs in seven innings in his career before that. Now he’s in the middle again, and having a big swing again, but just gloving Richardson nowhere. He gets an inside edge to fine leg off the last ball of the over, and Kuldeep Yadav turns him down! Says no single. The No10 is farming the strike for the No11, when they need 43 off the last over to win. Interesting.
UAE batsman Shaiman Anwar once made 43 off an over in a club game. Get him in here.
WICKET! Shami c & b Richardson 3 (7 balls), India 230-9
Richardson gets the chance to take one off his own bowling in the end, and some reward for a sprint down the pitch. A limping top-edge as Shami tries to pull, and it lobs up for Richardson to lunge underneath it coming forward.
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48th over: India 226-8 (Shami 1, Kuldeep 1) Another smart over from Cummins, bowling short balls but mixing up the pace between slower and full pace. Shami doesn’t connect with much, and Cummins finishes his day with 2 for 38 from his ten overs. Outstanding.
47th over: India 226-8 (Shami 1, Kuldeep 1) So it’s down to a bit of fun for Mohammad Shami and Kuldeep Yadav at the end. They each get off the mark at least, which is nice. Richardson has his first wicket, having gone for 45 from 9 overs.
WICKET! Jadhav c Maxwell b Richardson 44 (57 balls), India 223-8
It’s definitely off. Two in two balls for Australia, as Jadhav starts the Richardson over by trying to smash a pull shot into the stands, but can’t quite get enough of it. Maxwell tearing along the line like the ant on top of the cereal box gets square enough at deep midwicket and takes the lunging catch with his hands outstretched, running laterally to the ball. Finds a way to impress himself onto the contest even on a difficult night.
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46th over: India 223-7 (Jadhav 44) Bhuvi departs from the last ball, and India need 50 from 24.
WICKET! Bhuvneshwar c Finch b Cummins 46 (54 balls), India 223-7
It’s off. Finally he falls! But what a knock from the tailender. We knew he could bat, but this was thrilling towards the end. He slashes away a four to start the over, hustles every available run through the middle, then gets a length ball to finish the over and tries to help it over mid-off. Doesn’t get enough of it and Finch backpedals to catch it.
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45th over: India 214-6 (Jadhav 41, Bhuvneshwar 41)
What a hit from Bhuvi Kumar! That is sensational. He gets a length ball from Richardson, on-pace delivery, and absolutely smokes it dead straight down the ground for six. Baseballed into oblivion, or at least into that idiosyncratic grandstand at the Feroz Shah Kotla with all the signboards all over it. Crunched.
This came after Jadhav had bailed out of his stance while the ball was halfway down, which would have been interesting had it bowled him. Richardson accepted the generous call of dead ball without demur.
And after the six, Bhuvi is dropped by Richardson. A hard chance in his follow through, had to dive across to his left and low, but got fingertips to it. He also misses a run-out from the last ball of the over as Jadhav hustles to the striker’s end after Bhuvi dropped the ball at his feet and ran. Richardson was racing Jadhav to the ball.
They need 59 in 30 balls. Bhuvi has caught Jadhav on the scoreboard. This is like an Australian Prime Ministerial spill. Is it on? Is it on?
Surendranath Halder has emailed in, and regular readers won’t be surprised to find that I strongly agree.
“First England against the Windies and now India against the Aussies. Successive reality checks for the two World Cup favourites. The tournament should have had more teams, but either way it’s going to be a very close contest! Also, as I read someone say, these two series have shown how close the gap is between the top teams and the bottom. Will we see a similar closeness in teams like the Windies and Bangladesh when they play Scotland and Ireland? All the evidence says so. Hence it seems even more ridiculous how the ICC treats the Associate nations.”
Point the finger at the biggest nations that are taking the lion’s share of ICC revenue, foremost. Australia, England, India.
44th over: India 204-6 (Jadhav 40, Bhuvneshwar 33) Cummins is back, and he’s the key. India will need to find a way to score from him, just like Australia stripped 19 runs from a Bumrah over late in the piece, after he’d gone for less than that in his whole day to that point. Four singles are all they can manage here, though Bhuvi tries one big wallop that misses.
69 needed from 36. Would be more than nice if they could chase that.
43rd over: India 200-6 (Jadhav 38, Bhuvneshwar 31) This time it’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar who rasps six over midwicket! He wants something from Zampa’s spell, so he drops to one knee and launches into a flat sweep. Good connection. A few singles make nine from the over. The 200 is up. The target is 73 in 42. Is it possible? It’ll still take a massive over or two from somewhere, more than nines.
42nd over: India 191-6 (Jadhav 37, Bhuvneshwar 23) A single for Bhuvi, and then finally Jadhav goes big! He heaves into Maxwell and finds six over midwicket. Agricultural but effective. He follows it with a brace to midwicket, but decides that’s enough and defends the last two balls. You don’t know me, man.
They need 82 in 48 balls.
41st over: India 182-6 (Jadhav 29, Bhuvneshwar 22) Zampa wants to make it impossible. Another over worth only four singles. A few quicker ones but not afraid to toss up the odd delivery. He’s gone for 37 from nine.
40th over: India 178-6 (Jadhav 27, Bhuvneshwar 20) Finch still needs to get a couple of overs out of his fifth bowler, and he’s going for Maxwell rather than Stoinis. Last chance for Jadhav really, and he knows it. Advances to the first ball and slams it straight for four! Glances another run, then from the next ball as Maxwell tries to field off his own bowling he ends up rugby-tackling Jadhav into the ground at the non-striker’s end by accident. The pair disentangle themselves and are all smiles. So is Bhuvi, when he gets some width from the last ball and plays an excellent square drive for four!
We’re into the last 10 overs, and India need 95 to win. Not impossible.
39th over: India 169-6 (Jadhav 22, Bhuvneshwar 16) Bhuvi finally escapes the examination from Richardson by gloving a short ball away, and Jadhav is sharp enough to call for a run. Jadhav himself can’t score a boundary thereafter, but he does manage to kick away four runs to fine leg by mistake. They’ll take anything they can get. A single follows as well. Riches.
Tell you what, I will absolutely pitch a fit if they go into a World Cup without Mexwell and Commins.
If Australia lose today you might have to investigate the selection of little known players G Mexwell and P Commins. Whilst it’s true their Animated counterparts Merv Ewes and Allan Boulder did very well in International Cricket on Super Nintendo, this approach is laden with risk pic.twitter.com/686By9Zewc
— Nick Toovey (@tooves) March 13, 2019
38th over: India 163-6 (Jadhav 21, Bhuvneshwar 15) Lyon bowls a maiden! It’s hard graft, but Australia’s bowlers are doing a python job on India today. Jadhav tries to do the Dhoni style of defending calmly and choosing a moment to attack, but with a fresh-air shot and then a ball that bounces just in front of Finch at mid-off, the moments to attack aren’t especially well chosen.
37th over: India 163-6 (Jadhav 21, Bhuvneshwar 15) Richardson gets a full over at Bhuvi on returning to the attack, and India’s No8 can’t do a whole lot with it. Whacks a couple of runs away through cover, but Jhye uses a couple of well-directed short balls to cramp up the batsman, then fuller ones to force him to defend. Excellent bowling.
@GeoffLemonSport Seeing how he bowls offspin Jadhav is quite literally the Indian Turner.
— Thilo Fob (@sourbeerdough) March 13, 2019
True from Thilo, but given frequency I think Jadhav only qualifies for an indefinite article.
36th over: India 161-6 (Jadhav 21, Bhuvneshwar 13) Jadhav has just decided to see off Lyon. Defending, defending. I don’t know who he’s planning to score the runs off, though. Zampa has a couple of overs left. Cummins has three. Richardson has five. A wide and a couple of singles won’t cut it.
It’s time for an honesty circle. Everybody, gather round in your chairs. I’d like to pass the conch to Avitaj Mitra.
“Let me frankly admit that I was very much against this series at the start. It just seemed like overkill, considering the two sides had played just a month back. But the extremely high quality of cricket produced along with the close finishes have forced me to change my mind. Shankar and Kuldeep from India and Khwaja, Turner and Richardson have all staked their claims to be on the flight to England come June. I low-key loved this series, despite my initial reservations about it.”
My friend, you don’t need us to forgive you. You only have to forgive yourself.
35th over: India 158-6 (Jadhav 20, Bhuvneshwar 12) Bonus runs for India! Cummins can only smile ruefully as he bowls a yorker with a bit of shape to it, thinks for a second that it’s going to smash the stumps, and then sees Bhuvneshwar get a toe-end edge to the ball that squirts it past Carey for four.
115 needed in 90. And that’s drinks.
34th over: India 151-6 (Jadhav 18, Bhuvneshwar 7) Lyon finishes his eight over with just a couple more singles added. He’s had a very good tour, after battling during a couple of games in Australia. Another minor milestone passes by for India but they still need 122 from 96 balls.
Here’s Abhijato Sensarma. “The Aussie keeper did what the Indian one couldn’t. The Aussie wristpsinner did what the Indian one couldn’t. Can the Indian finisher do what the Aussie one couldn’t?”
Ashton Jadhav?
33rd over: India 149-6 (Jadhav 17, Bhuvneshwar 6) Time for Pat Cummins, with 1 for 13 from his five overs so far. He’s been outstanding recently. Well, he’s been outstanding since about this time in 2017, when he came back into the Test team in Ranchi and bowled with huge heart on a dead track. Bhuvneshwar glides a single. Jadhav gets beaten, then responds with a lovely back-foot force to backward point. Deserved a boundary but the outfielder gets around.
Peter Salmon has sent a response. “Love the Gilbert Jessop info, and have just spent half an hour down that rabbit hole. But he does seem a bit of an outlier, although, in fact, it seems his era and the current one are the fastest. We seem to have gone back to the technique of ‘giving it a wang’. I just wonder if some of the fast scorers of the 90s, your Pontings and so forth, regret they weren’t around ten years later when stuff they didn’t know they were able to do is being done by players not as good?”
That accepted ceiling is certainly an interesting idea, in terms of what batsmen believed was possible. Though someone like Lance Klusener was playing in that sort of style during that era. Certainly in terms of what they could be earning in T20s, they’d regret it. Though I remember Ricky Ponting playing the first T20 International in 2005 with a look on his face like a man who’s just found a dead mouse in the toaster while he’s halfway through breakfast.
32nd over: India 146-6 (Jadhav 16, Bhuvneshwar 4) Lyon comes back on for his off-spin buddy, and Jadhav takes a liking to him as well. This time it’s a lovely late cut. The computer corrected that to ‘late cute’, which is apt enough. He made 81 not out to start this series in Hyderabad, and 61 not out recently in Melbourne. Has the chance to do something eye-catching today.
31st over: India 139-6 (Jadhav 11, Bhuvneshwar 2) Well, what a turnaround for Adam Zampa. His first ball was lamped for six. His next 7.5 overs have returned 3 for 27. Now Bhuvneshwar, who can bat, is respectfully blocking him out before a late single.
30th over: India 138-6 (Jadhav 11, Bhuvneshwar 1) A little cheer for India from Jadhav, who laps Maxwell to fine leg for a boundary. Will need plenty more of those, though.
29th over: India 132-6 (Jadhav 6, Bhuvneshwar 0) A double-wicket maiden for the Zamparoo. India still need 141 and have their first genuine bowler at the crease. Looks every chance that Australia will complete a miracle 2-3 series comeback.
WICKET! Jadeja st Carey b Zampa 0 (3 balls), India 132-6
Two in the over for Zampa, whose fortune has turned! A very sharp bit of work from Carey. Jadeja comes well forward to the wrong ‘un, which beats him. In so doing it drags his foot out of his ground. Not by much, just by a couple of centimetres. Then his toe edges back as his weight edges back. But after many, many replays, the third umpire decides there is plenty of foot on the line, but no bit of shoe behind the line. I’m sure a few spectators in blue will disagree, but that one felt out with each replay.
Jadeja has had his chances to contribute with the bat, and could really have locked down his World Cup squad if he had. Scores of 21, 24, and a duck. Such a good bowler, such a great fielder, but has left himself vulnerable by not nailing his third discipline.
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WICKET! Rohit st Carey b Zampa 56 (89 balls), India 132-5
Finally Zampa gets his man. Rohit has tried a few different ways to get out and has now struck upon one that works. He simply has to get bogged down for a few overs, go for a wander against Zampa, then swing so hard at the ball that he nearly loses his feet and does lose his bat which goes flying away to short fine leg. With no chance to use the bat to regain his ground, he’s stumped by a mile.
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28th over: India 132-4 (Rohit 56, Jadhav 6) What Maxwell can do right is bowl a tight over. He’s bowled three overs for 10 runs now, as this one only goes for a single. Five balls becalming Rohit, who can only keep digging it back to the bowler. Then the square leg push from the last ball.
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27th over: India 131-4 (Rohit 55, Jadhav 6) Would you believe it? Rohit is dropped again! Twice in two Zampa deliveries. And it’s Maxwell who is having a nightmare match. Played a bad shot to make no runs, gave away some overthrows, and now he drops to one knee at cover as Rohit laces a flat low drive at him, and lets the ball slip through his hands and bounce clear. Maxwell is filthy with himself. And too clean, apparently, as he rubs his hands in the dirt to try to dry them. In order to have clean hands, you need dirty hands. If your hands are dirty you can clean up. But if you can’t clean up then you’re having a dirty day. Clear as mud?
26th over: India 128-4 (Rohit 53, Jadhav 5) Maxwell very nearly gets through a tight over, but drags down the final ball and Jadhav gratefully accepts the chance to lace it through cover.
@GeoffLemonSport re WC, a top seven of Warner, Khawaja, Smith and then depending on circumstances Handscombe, Stoinis, Maxwell, Turner would seem like an awful lot of fun.
— Brenden Fawkes (@BrendenFawkes) March 13, 2019
Can’t much argue with that.
25th over: India 122-4 (Rohit 52, Jadhav 0) It’s almost a much bigger over for Australia than the wicket of Shankar. Rohit nearly runs himself out next ball, coming back for a second that requires a dive and a third-umpire check. Then he’s dropped off Zampa’s final delivery, following a ball that might have been the top-spinner. It took a little edge straight into Carey’s gloves, but hit the heels of his hands and bounced out before the keeper knew what was happening.
Three, two, one: “They either stick or they don’t.”
WICKET! Shankar c Khawaja b Zampa 16 (21 balls), India 120-4
Oh, that’s a wasted opportunity from Shankar. He hits a long six off Zampa when the ball is flighted up, but then he tries to go again the very next ball and gets more elevation than lateral distance. Khawaja is at deep midwicket and is able to run around a bit straighter and hold the steepler.
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Half century! Rohit Sharma 50 from 73 balls
24th over: India 114-3 (Rohit 50, Shankar 10) Glenn Maxwell gets a trundle for the first time today, and the batsmen don’t go after his off-breaks any more heartily than they have Lyon’s. Rohit does raise his fifty though. He’s striking at 67.56, which at this point is his fourth-slowest out of 63 innings when he’s gone past a half-century.
23rd over: India 111-3 (Rohit 49, Shankar 8) More of the holding pattern – rather than a Michael Holding pattern – with Zampa. He’s delighted to rattle through some cheap overs. Shankar is keeping his cool so far. India reach Nelson.
22nd over: India 107-3 (Rohit 47, Shankar 7) These spinners are racing through the overs. Luckily there’s not a whole lot to report as the singles game goes on. A lot sevens on the scoreline for those who like such things. But to buck the trend, Rohit raises his 8000th ODI run.
21st over: India 103-3 (Rohit 45, Shankar 5) The hundred comes up with a few more runs collected sedately in the Zampa over. Rohit is even convinced to run a two after he drives behind point. This isn’t beyond India by any stretch. The required run rate is still just under six an over. This pitch hasn’t been the easiest to time shots on, especially for new batsmen, but this pair only need a sensible partnership and they can look to up the scoring rate later in the piece.
20th over: India 98-3 (Rohit 42, Shankar 3) Hmm, Rohit does end up trying the big shot against Lyon here, but only smears the ball flat away to mid-on along the ground. Takes a single, and Shankar has a dodgy one when he gloves it past the keeper. Lyon maintains the (very calm) rage.
19th over: India 94-3 (Rohit 40, Shankar 1) Rohit is soaking up most of the strike against Zampa. No sign of any intent to do anything but find the odd single, though in this over Rohit pushes back a checked return that isn’t too far away from carrying to the bowler.
18th over: India 91-3 (Rohit 38, Shankar 0) So it’s all up to Rohit now, really. Vijay Shankar comes out, he’s played a couple of decent knocks in this series. Lyon has four overs, 1 for 14. Outstanding.
WICKET! Pant c Turner b Lyon 16 (16 balls), India 91-3
Proper off-spin bowling! Finch was smart enough to bring a slip in for the left-hander. Lyon turns the ball away from that style of batsmen, and has dominated them in Test cricket. He does it again here: some loop, maybe a bit of drift, then turn away from the bat as Pant pushes forward at it. Simple take for Turner.
17th over: India 90-2 (Rohit 37, Pant 16) Adam Zampa has been held back until the 17th over, after bowling in the Powerplay at other times in this series. He doesn’t start well though. It’s a drag-down, and Pant smashes it for six! Got well back and heaved that pull shot into the crowd, not exactly elegantly but effectively. The batsmen collect a few singles to follow.
16th over: India 80-2 (Rohit 35, Pant 8) Just a couple of singles from Lyon’s over in the lead-up to drinks.
“The Leap” is the intriguing title of this email from Peter Salmon. “I’ve been thinking about Ashton Turner a lot the last few days, as I hope we all have, and how he would have been impossible as little as 20 years ago. Is there any other sport - actually, let’s go big, human endeavour - where there has been such a radical paradigm shift so quickly without the essential tools changing? And all from such apparently humble ideas - Steve Waugh realising teams didn’t lose Tests when they had scored 300 in a day, Jayasuriya deciding to hit over the top in the 1996 World Cup from ball one, and the introduction of 20/20. Basically Ashton Turner would be as much a man from the future as Arnie in The Terminator if he’d was sent back to 1993 when he was born.”
Well... I like the premise of this kind of thinking. It’s exciting to think how things have evolved, in terms of the range of shots played and the conventional wisdom that has shifted. But it’s also not true that the modern scoring speed is unprecedented, because hitting a ball with a bat is fun, and people have been trying to do just that forever.
A great example is Gilbert Jessop: not just his Ashes 104 off about 70 balls that lit up the Oval back in 1902, but the even more absurd county innings that he assembled: we don’t know balls faced, but he made 286 at Hove in under three hours. A similar Test score would take most batsmen two days. Then there’s Albert Trott hitting a six over the Lord’s pavilion, or some of Victor Trumper’s truly insane first-grade innings, back in the days when hits out of the oval only counted for four, but he could produce dozens of them in one innings.
Recency bias is pretty powerful. So the game has changed, but the existence of incredibly destructive batting isn’t new. Just perhaps some of the ways that it comes about.
15th over: India 78-2 (Rohit 34, Pant 7) Pant’s off! This time he gets the cut away, against Stoinis, lifting it over backward point for four. Ah, the freedom of youth. Then a simple glide to third man to rotate the strike.
14th over: India 72-2 (Rohit 33, Pant 2) Lyon has a decent shout against Rohit as the batsman sinks to one knee and misses an off-break, but it hit him outside the line. Australia don’t appeal. Pant plays his first expansive shot, a carving cut shot, but there’s protection on the boundary.
13th over: India 70-2 (Rohit 32, Pant 1) This is interesting: Rishabh Pant has been pushed up the order. India want to see what he can do with the bat while MS Dhoni is chillin’ like a villain. Left-hander, wicketkeeper. Had a highly entertaining Test tour of Australia back in December and January. He loves to attack but he’s calmly off the mark by nudging a single.
For anyone feeling sad about Kohli, here is a picture of a very nice dog.
Please reply here if you would like a photo of a dog (specify if you would like one of mungo, otherwise it will be a picture if a dog I know picked at random) pic.twitter.com/2pJyBFJwSZ
— bremroaner (@SirSandGoblin) March 13, 2019
WICKET! Kohli c Carey b Stoinis 20 (22 balls), India 68-2
What in blazes! Wheeeeerrrrrre did that come from! Kohli is out. The main man is gone, in the most innocuous fashion. How has he done that? This is like Samuel L. Jackson getting eaten about 20 minutes into Deep Blue Sea. That’s who everyone came to see!
Stoinis bowls some nice wide and friendly stuff, sitting up and requesting to be slapped to the point boundary, and instead Kohli nicks it behind with a tiny flicker of the bat. He walks, too disgusted with himself to stick around even if the umpire had allowed it.
12th over: India 66-1 (Rohit 30, Kohli 19) Nathan Lyon begins his day’s work, and Virat Kohli lets him know it won’t be easy. Nice delivery from around the wicket, straightening with significant turn at the stumps, but Kohli just camps back and glides it with a delicate dab. Third man is in the circle, and it beats him on the inside hand to roll to the fence. Five singles follow. Phase 3 is profit.
Mitchell Johnson in commentary asks a very pertinent question. Nathan Lyon is nicknamed GOAT for being Australia’s best Test finger-spinner. But can you use the same nickname when he’s playing one-day cricket, where he’s playing his 20th match and has one wicket per game at an average of 43?
11th over: India 57-1 (Rohit 28, Kohli 12) Here comes a sloppy over from all concerned. Stoinis is the bowler, and goes too far to leg side. Rohit tries to pull and again misses. The ball seems to clip the underside of his raised thigh, and deflects past Carey for four. The wicketkeeper doesn’t move early enough. And the umpire calls it five wides. Not wanting to be left out of the mistake rotation, Maxwell misfields a ball from Rohit at point to allow a single, then throws down the non-striker’s stumps in frustration. Great throw, except it was never a chance of dismissing anyone and it ricochets for four overthrows. Making up for the ones that Bumrah donated earlier.
So all in all, India score 10 runs from one delivery.
10th over: India 43-1 (Rohit 22, Kohli 9) Nearly out! Rohit just clears mid-on, as he drags through a big drive against Richardson. Was looking to send that soaring down the ground but in the end it squibbed over the fieldsman leaking momentum like a deflating ballon. Pwwwwwwrrrrrrrrpppppppppt. He still gets four runs.
9th over: India 38-1 (Rohit 18, Kohli 8) A maiden from Cummins! Not that Rohit was trying to defend much, but he either hit the field, hesitated before a single, or on one occasion missed a pull shot completely.
“Afternoon Geoff,” emails Nick Toovey. “I’ve forever been intrigued by the interesting grandstand design in Delhi. If you were to tell me it was a re-appropriated carpark, I wouldn’t question it.”
Having been there, I can verify that everything outside the ground is pretty much a car park. Surrounded by busy roads as well. On match days it was more taken up with the buses that bring along the swarms of police and military types who surround the stadium. The hierarchy is a mystery that will never be solved.
Found a few shots here actually, from the World T20 in 2016.
Scenes on the way into the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium at Delhi today. @abcgrandstand pic.twitter.com/63wB7W5LU3
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) March 24, 2016
8th over: India 38-1 (Rohit 18, Kohli 8) Class from Rohit this time. Stands up tall as he gets a length ball from Richardson, and there’s just enough width for him to smash a back-foot drive through cover point for four! Must be very sure of the line of the ball. He edges his next one, genuinely, to third man. Richardson gets his line right to Kohli, tight on off stump. Keeps the maestro quiet for three whole deliveries.
7th over: India 33-1 (Rohit 13, Kohli 8) A simple single for Kohli to third man, then a good bumper from Cummins! Got some extra, and the ball spits up at Rohit and raps him on the gloves, up around chest height. Rohit is watchful and takes five balls to find a single, away to midwicket.
6th over: India 31-1 (Rohit 12, Kohli 7) This time Rohit middles one against Richardson, as he crashes a drive through cover himself. There’s nearly a run out to close the over. These two have some serious form with running each other out. Rohit usually gets a double ton if he runs out Kohli. This was Kohli’s fault though. He taps the ball across the line to midwicket and sprints with the shot, straight down the middle of the pitch. He squeaks home as Stoinis’ throw arrives at the stumps. We’ll never know which millimetres would have ended up where, because the throw misses.
5th over: India 24-1 (Rohit 7, Kohli 5) How’s that for a way to get off the mark! The wicket falls, then the home crowd does that confusing thing where everyone cheers mightily... because Virat Kohli is coming to the crease at No3. He defends one ball from Cummins, then steps neatly into a wider delivery and drives it through cover for four! Such ease, barely a flourish, but the timing was perfection. When Rohit’s turn comes, he slices a wider ball unconvincingly through gully, but gets the same result. A wicket and 9 runs from the over.
WICKET! Dhawan c Carey b Cummins 12 (15 balls), India 15-1
Textbook stuff! Good lift from Cummins as he pitches just outside off, and Dhawan fanned at it but the bounce brings him undone, taking the edge of an angled bat through to the wicketkeeper.
4th over: India 15-0 (Rohit 3, Dhawan 12) Richardson finds his rhythm, settling into a pattern of dot, single, through the over. Bowling wide on the crease and using the angle in to deny them much room.
3rd over: India 12-0 (Rohit 2, Dhawan 10) That’s the style for Dhawan: go hard early and hope it works. Has a huge whoosh against Cummins, short and wide ball that prompts a cut shot, but no contact. So Dhawan pulls his head in, blocks a ball, then works a single square. It’s the only score from an excellent over.
“How about Cummins as captain?” emails Avitaj Mitra. “Not just for the World Cup, but long term. He has been magnificently good over the last year, can bat decently, he’s 25 so just about hitting his prime, and most importantly, he seems to have a good cricket brain.”
Not a bad shout. I’m definitely a supporter of the idea that he could captain the Test side when Tim Paine is done. Perhaps for right now though, for the World Cup, he hasn’t played a whole lot of ODI cricket. In a lot of ways it’s harder, because you have to juggle your Powerplay and fielding restrictions and your bowler quotas. So it would be a tough ask to throw him the gig right before the biggest tournament in the sport.
2nd over: India 11-0 (Rohit 2, Dhawan 9) Now it’s Jhye Richardson with the ball. Gee he batted well at the end there – 29 from 21 balls, run out from the last delivery sacrificing himself for the chance of a second run. Played a couple of gorgeous shots. He’s a talent. The radar isn’t there as he starts his primary job though, on Dhawan’s pads after Rohit takes a single, and Dhawan clips him for four. Next ball, a bit of width, and while Dhawan’s square drive was uppish, it hits the gap and the fence as well. A single rounds out 10 from the over.
Eyes on the prize #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/ROJWLkOTbv
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 13, 2019
1st over: India 1-0 (Rohit 1, Dhawan 0) Righto, away we go. Time to settle down a bit after those frenetic final overs. Rohit Sharma likes to take his time these days, and he does just that against Pat Cummins, defending three times before pushing a single through cover. Dhawan is less compact, coming across his front pad to defend. These two piled on 193 for the opening wicket in the previous match of this series, though Australia was able to produce a chase of 359 to win.
Thanks Adam. Yes, I’ll tell you what – the race for spots in this team has become very interesting. A few weeks ago it looked like Steve Smith and David Warner would be formalities to come back in. But look at things now: Usman Khawaja has just banged a couple of tons together. Shaun Marsh has made a stack of them in the last year, including two in England. Peter Handscomb is playing beautifully, combining aggression with clarity. Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis are valued for their destructiveness and are needed for their bowling. And now Ashton Turner has thrown himself in the mix with his own finishing prowess. The only batsman who isn’t making a compelling case is Aaron Finch, but he’s the captain, and the returning players are banned from leading.
So what to do? You’ve already got seven players trying to fit into six spots before the banned pair even come back. Neither of them can captain the side, which precludes them replacing Finch. So does a brand new captain come into play if he can’t make runs in the UAE? Who could that be? Maxwell is the most experienced player and led the Melbourne Stars well in the Big Bash, but you’re hard pressed to see the current selectors make that imaginative leap. Marsh is the oldest but never leads domestically. Interesting times ahead.
The fair thing to say, if you’ve been banned and someone is playing well in your old spot, is too bad...
All told, not a bad score. Yes, they should have finished with 300 after Khawaja and Handscomb laid the base, the former falling for an even 100 - a wonderful ton - with the score 175 in the 33rd over. However, despite the consistent wickets that fell and the fact that none of the three big hitters really got going, they finished on a high thanks to some timely striking from Richardson and Cummins at the death.
Until his fateful ninth over, which went for 19, Bumrah was unplayable and brilliant, Bhuvi and Shami both playing important supporting roles with five wickets between them. Jadeja was the better of the spinners, claiming Maxwell straight away and zipping through his ten overs claiming 2/45. Very handy.
Back to Khawaja, he ends the series with 383 runs at 76.7 with two tons and two other half-centuries. He’s definitely going to be part of the XI when the World Cup comes around, but where? That’s yet to be seen. A lot will be dictated by whether Finch (who, to be fair, got a great ball from Jadeja on 27) cements his spot in the UAE when Australia visit there for three further ODIs next week.
A word for Handscomb too, who lifted the tempo the moment he arrived, combining for an excellent stand of 99 with Khawaja, adding 52 to his century from Sunday. With Alex Carey far from established, the Victorian also a wicketkeeper, I wonder whether they will be tempted to combine the roles.
Time will tell. For now, Australia have 272 to defend. If they can, it’ll be their first ODI series win in India since 2009. If the hosts knock off the runs, as you would expect them to do under lights, it will be their 13th series triumph in their last 14 starts. I’ll hand over Geoff Lemon to guide you through that. Bye for now!
AUSTRALIA FINISH ON 272-9 (WICKET! Richardson run out 29)
50th over: Australia 272-9 (Lyon 1) A scrappy final over, Richardson struggling to make contact from Bumrah’s first couple before grabbing a single. When Lyon misses the slower ball, Richardson calls him through for a bye. It’s a good decision as the West Australian is able to get a thick top edge over the non-existent cordon for a timely boundary. Coming back for two from the final ball, he doesn’t quite make it back to his ground but 29 from 21 was a fine cameo at a vital time.
Updated
49th over: Australia 265-8 (Richardson 23, Lyon 1) A swing and a miss from Lyon to finish, which is probably a good thing as it means Richardson will get to face Bumrah at the start of the 50th over, the man he smashed around in the 48th.
WICKET! Cummins c & b Bhuvneshwar 15 (Australia 263-8)
An unusual dismissal. Cummins jammed down on a full delivery that would have gone down into the turf but instead landed on his front pad, the rebound landing in the lands of Bhuvi in his follow through. The TV ump is called upon to confirm what has happened, the clear catch shown. To be fair, this happens quite a bit.
48th over: Australia 260-7 (Richardson 21, Cummins 13) Jumping Jhye! At long last, Australia have found a way to score off Bumrah and what a way to do it! 19 RUNS came from the over with four boundaries, by far the best of the innings. It started with a deft late cut from Richardson to the third man rope, followed by an outstanding cover drive from the young West Australian. Frustrated, Bumrah then gave up four bonus runs when taking a ping at the stumps, deflecting away to the boundary off the woodwork. Getting his turn, Cummins repeats what Richardson did to begin, opening the blade to dab four more to third man. Back in business.
Updated
47th over: Australia 241-7 (Richardson 6, Cummins 9) You can always rely on Pat Cummins to find a way to make it work. Bhuvi has been great, but the Australian quick has the skills to lift him over mid-off for a four early in the over followed by three hacked away to midwicket. With singles still coming, the experienced quick can’t get out of his over without spraying a legside wide. 11 from it in the end, by far Australia’s best over of this final stanza.
The slowness of the pitch and some excellent bowling has made batting difficult and the total below where it was headed. But won't be easy to chase if there isn't any dew.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 13, 2019
46th over: Australia 230-7 (Richardson 4, Cummins 1) India are putting on a clinic of how to close down an innings with classy bowling at the end of an ODI. That Shami set went two, Australia adding just 28 in the six overs of happy hour so far.
Australia after Khawaja's 100
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) March 13, 2019
175/1
175/2
178/3
182/4
210/5
225/6
229/7#INDvAUS
WICKET! Carey c Pant b Shami 3 (Australia 229-7)
Yep, the wheels are falling off here. Carey - who really needed to be there at the end - edges Shami’s slower ball, just carrying to Pant who takes a good catch moving forward.
45th over: Australia 228-6 (Carey 3, Richardson 3) An excellent performance from Bhuvi today as well, coming back to immediately remove Khawaja earlier and now nabbing Stoinis within a couple of balls of his reintroduction. 2/32 are his figures after eight overs. Kohli has plenty of combinations for how he stitches together his final five overs, all three quicks with two overs up their sleeve.
WICKET! Stoinis b Bhuvneshwar 20 (Australia 225-6)
It is not to be, Stoinis chopping Bhuvi on for 20 off 27 balls. It was a slower ball that the all-rounder tried to carve out to point but without a lot of footwork, the inside edge deflecting onto his middle stump. After laying a very good foundation to explode, Australia have just about blown their chances of a 300-plus tally.
44th over: Australia 224-5 (Stoinis 20, Carey 2) Shami has also been used really well by Kohli and complements Bumrah well by denying the Australians a boundary. Clever bowling, attacking the stumps but mixing up the pace. Time for Stoinis to turn up the volume. This is what he’s in there for.
43rd over: Australia 218-5 (Stoinis 16, Carey 0) Bumrah begins with another unplayable to Stoinis. There is nothing they can do to fast bowling that is this accurate and potent, Stoinis off strike when digging out a yorker but it’s the only run from the over. Bumrah: 8-0-14-0. [Paul Keating] A beautiful set of numbers [/Paul Keating].
“Looking to the World Cup,” writes Nick Toovey, “I’m getting some 1992/2011 undertones for Australia. It’s got needing-to-chase-an-unlikely-300-in-22-overs in the final group game to qualify for the semi’s written all over it.”
If only we had the Super Sixes! I’m currently preparing to write an ode to the misunderstood middle-stage of the 1999 and 2003 tournaments. Sigh.
Updated
42nd over: Australia 217-5 (Stoinis 15, Carey 0) Stoinis is on strike with the batsmen crossing as Turner was dismissed and he launches Kuldeep straight back over his head for SIX! That’s one way to respond to a wicket. Giving Carey the strike for one ball, he defends into short leg. The South Australian played very nicely on Sunday but with Handscomb making a pretty strong case for inclusion in the World Cup - a man who also wicketkeeps - he needs to keep contributing. 14 runs and a wicket from the Kuldeep over, finishing with 1/74 from his ten.
WICKET! Turner c Jadeja b Kuldeep 20 (Australia 210-5)
He’s probably a fraction lucky there, Kuldeep, but his bravery is rewarded all the same. After being hammered over the midwicket boundary for six first ball of the over by Turner, he threw up another that the West Australian tried to deposit again but didn’t quite get all of it, caught on the rope by Jadeja. Gutsy bowling.
41st over: Australia 203-4 (Stoinis 8, Turner 14) Bumrah, what a guy. That’s his seventh over, just one from it, giving him figures of 0/13. He beat the blade of Stoinis along the way, a reminder of how easily he can hit the seam. Too good.
40th over: Australia 202-4 (Stoinis 8, Turner 13) Kuldeep is back for about his fourth spell, Kohli mixing up his bowlers well through these awkward middle overs. He’s done it well too, bowling so many variations of his wrong’un that when he misses his length, Turner can’t get into position early enough to hammer it into the gap, getting only one to midwicket. Ten overs to go, welcome to happy hour.
“Hello again Adam.” Hello again, Phil Withall. “I’ve rethought my objection to the time limit between deliveries. If, and only if, the ICC make it mandatory for the Countdown tune (Letters and numbers for Australian viewers) to be played as the time limit nears and the crowd are forced to participate in it. Then I will fully embrace the concept.”
39th over: Australia 199-4 (Stoinis 7, Turner 11) Shami is ever so close to getting through his over without any meaningful damage but he runs into Stoinis’ broad blade, who plays a Watto-esque straight drive to die for. Swooooon.
“I’ve been holding off sending this til Usman got his ton,” emails Peter Salmon, “but do you think, given his latest work we might be seeing him step up and becoming elite? His average is around 40 in each format – might he be the sort of player, compact and graceful, who plays til he’s 38 and pushes up towards averaging 50? Big call I know, but making lots of runs seems to really suit him.”
My gut feel is that won’t happen, but I hope you’re right. He’s certainly a world-beater at the moment, though, so I say let’s enjoy this hot streak while it lasts.
38th over: Australia 193-4 (Stoinis 2, Turner 10) No slip, no wicket! Jadeja wins the new man Turner’s edge in conventional fashion but there is no catcher in place. The crowd once again chant about Dhoni as though he would have magically pulled that in from behind the stumps, but that’s nonsense. Jadeja deserved a third scalp rather than a boundary from his final delivery, finishing with 2/45.
“I love Chahal and Kuldeep,” emails Lewis Rosenberg. “I think they are very skilled bowlers and I love to see the two wristies in tandem, one left-handed and one right handed. Then again, Jadeja is awesome. What’s India’s best spin combo for the World Cup? Any chance all three can play with Jadeja as an all-rounder?”
I’m with you: they’ve all class. To that end, I’d be tempted to play all three. At least in the back end of the tournament when the pitches will be a fraction more worn out, much as it was at the Champions Trophy and Women’s World Cup in 2017.
37th over: Australia 188-4 (Stoinis 1, Turner 6) Kohli whips the crowd into a frenzy before the first ball to Turner but the tall West Australian plays a masterful stroke, timing the pants off an on-drive that splits the gap expertly and runs away to the rope at wide long-on. Have that. He takes two more to cover, again into the gap. The last Shami offering is a spot-on slower one that finds an inside edge. Close.
WICKET! Handscomb c Pant b Shami 52 (Australia 182-4)
Kohli has the midas touch, bringing back Shami and winning a wicket right away, that of the set man Handscomb who edges when cutting from close to his body.
36th over: Australia 182-3 (Handscomb 52, Stoinis 1) Good from Jadeja, who again knows the right time to zip through a quick over to transfer pressure back onto the batting team. Handscomb takes singles down the ground to start and end it, Stoinis off the mark to cover between times. They’ll take it. Your move, Australia.
Handscomb to 50!
35th over: Australia 179-3 (Handscomb 50, Stoinis 0) A bit of a reset for Australia after losing two quick wickets, the only run coming from the Bhuvi over a single to third man that brings up Handscomb’s half-century. Can’t fault him for the way he has played here and on Sunday. Still a decent chance to have his job (and the wicketkeeping gloves) during the World Cup, for mine.
34th over: Australia 178-3 (Handscomb 49, Stoinis 0) Good grief, Stoinis is very lucky to survive an lbw shout first up, the umpire deciding that it was bat-pad not pad-bat. No review from Kohli, so we’ll never know (until we see the replay next over).
That'll be the dismissal they reference when sacking him from the World Cup squad.
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) March 13, 2019
WICKET! Maxwell c Kohli b Jadeja 1 (Australia 178-3)
Two in two overs! Maxwell tried to lift Jadeja over the circle at cover but failed to clear Kohli, who claims the most straightforward of catches. Suddenly, India are back in business.
WICKET! Khawaja c Kohli c Bhuvneshwar 100 (Australia 175-2)
Gone for an even 100! Kohli threw the ball to Bhuvi and his top man won the error from the final ball of a tidy over, Khawaja miscuing a drive from a delivery where some pace was taken off. Stationed at catching cover, the captain made no mistake. The end of a brilliant innings. And all told, perhaps not the worst time for him to fall with the firepower now to come for Australia.
33rd over: Australia 175-2 (Handscomb 47)
Khawaja to 100!
32nd over: Australia 174-1 (Khawaja 100, Handscomb 46) Handscomb’s fancy feet get him to the pitch of Kuldeep early in the over, whipping two. He edges that next one though, well beyond the gloves of Pant and down to the rope. The wicketkeeper did nothing wrong but it doesn’t prevent the Delhi crowd chanting for Dohli anyway. Yarn. Khawaja’s turn later in the over on 99 and he pushes to point for his century! That’s his second ODI ton, both coming in the last week. What a masterful innings it has been too from the opener, with ten boundaries and two sixes along the way. At the peak of his powers, this man is a joy to watch.
31st over: Australia 164-1 (Khawaja 98, Handscomb 38) Make that four good overs in a row for the hosts, Bumrah only conceding three and so nearly going under Handscomb’s bat with an accurate yorker. But the Victorian responded well, leaning back against the shorter ball to cut a couple behind point. I wouldn’t be surprised if Handscomb elects to cut loose here knowing the talent they have sitting in the shed. After Khawaja gets to three figures, that is.
30th over: Australia 161-1 (Khawaja 97, Handscomb 36) Three good overs on the bounce from India, eight runs coming from them collectively. Khawaja finds a gap through cover for a couple then keeps the strike with one in that direction as well, but that’s his lot this time around. ‘If you double the score at 30 overs...’ - come on somebody on TV, say it. You know you want to.
29th over: Australia 158-1 (Khawaja 94, Handscomb 36) The attitude changes completely when Bumrah is at the bowling crease, brought back by Kohli at a timely moment to back up the neat over from Kuldeep. Khawaja is not going to take a risk against him at this stage of his innings, happy enough deflecting a single late in the over, Handscomb keeping out the yorker to finish. Bumrah has given up just nine runs in five overs. How will Kohli ration his overs, I wonder?
28th over: Australia 157-1 (Khawaja 93, Handscomb 36) Kuldeep pegs them back nicely here, Handscomb up to the task of sweeping the wrong’un for one, Khawaja taking his singles square of the wicket. Khawaja has faced 87 balls for his 93.
27th over: Australia 152-1 (Khawaja 90, Handscomb 34) This is not the right time for Jadeja to miss his length at Khawaja, the southpaw into the 90s with a powerfully pulled boundary. This is quite the base to lay for Maxwell, Stoinis and Turner who are going to get the chance to party like its 1999 in the final ten overs.
26th over: Australia 145-1 (Khawaja 84, Handscomb 33) Ohhh! Khawaja dances and lofts Kuldeep back over his head for a second SIX of his innings. What a strike. The opener is into the 80s and is speeding up through these middle overs, which are usually defined by their monotony. They’re flying.
25th over: Australia 136-1 (Khawaja 76, Handscomb 32) Has there ever been a reversal in fortunes for a player with a single shot than Khawaja with the reverse sweep? There were some extraordinary stats 12 months ago in South Africa about his lack of success with it. Now, he executes the reverse better than almost anyone in world cricket, middling the stroke off Jadeja here to collect another boundary. Sure enough, he whips it out again later in the over to pick up a single, not worried about the man in position in case he miscues.
“Hayden banging on about playing without your ego,” notes Patrick Walsh. “He doesn’t know how funny he is.”
24th over: Australia 128-1 (Khawaja 70, Handscomb 30) Handscomb is looking just as neat as Khawaja at the moment. At least equally as confident, walking down at Shami’s first ball and bossing him down the ground. Khawaja’s turn now and for the second time in as many overs from the Indian quick he is deep in the crease and pulling with complete authority, the ball skipping over the rope at midwicket - his ninth boundary. He clips a couple more, the shot he has played so well from the moment he walked out there this afternoon. Unless something goes horribly wrong, Khawaja is well on the way to his second ton in five days.
23rd over: Australia 121-1 (Khawaja 64, Handscomb 29) There is the value of Jadeja in ODIs. With Australia getting back on top, he’s able to jump on to bowl an over of quicker darts to put a stop to the momentum. Just two singles here. Nicely done.
22nd over: Australia 119-1 (Khawaja 63, Handscomb 28) After one ineffective over from Jadhav, Shami is brought back much to the enjoyment of Khawaja, who leans back and creams a pull shot into the gap at midwicket for four. We always talk about 2015-16 as the summer of Usmania and he’s looking every bit as good as that at the moment when turning out in the canary yellow.
“I had written to the Guardian during the Australian Open,” emails Abhijato Sensarma, “saying how the ‘shot clocks’ had inspired me to propose an idea for ‘over clocks’. The OBO writer at the time reckoned the idea had been suggested before by the MCC, but was impractical. Yet, when I went through the article I saw the committee was trying to bring it up again. There must be a reason they do so - if the best cricketing minds in the world want to give it another try, who are we to deny that the ‘over clock’ might be plausible? Yes, there will be many external causes which can affect the timings, but I’m sure the umpires are smart enough to accept that. After all, the tennis community was against it initially too, but it’s turned out to bring around arguably better dynamics and faster play. There are more factors in a cricket match, but methinks the ‘over clock’ will help more than hinder if the playing community accepts it with open arms.”
Yep, that was me. I was at the Lord’s press conference last year where they raised it. Usually, these ideas take a while to cut through. It was generally pretty well received, actually. Not so much an over clock per se, but the ability for the fourth official to keep track of wasted time in a more methodical way to improve the chances of getting 90 overs played in any given Test Match day. Worth a look.
21st over: Australia 111-1 (Khawaja 58, Handscomb 25) There is that Khawaja reverse sweep, rolled out to the first ball of the fresh Jadeja over, clean contact made and three runs added. Three further singles are milked square of the wicket to keep the run rate at a pretty healthy 5.3 with Handscomb now very much set.
20th over: Australia 105-1 (Khawaja 54, Handscomb 23) Interesting move from Kohli, bringing on Jadhav, who is essentially his sixth bowler today with Shami back in the XI. To be fair, he has done a fine job this series and pretty much every time he has bowled at these Australians in both countries over the last couple of months with his side-arm tweakers. Handscomb is having none of that today though, dancing at his first ball, getting to the pitch before popping him over midwicket for four to bring up Australia’s 100. That’s the way to do it. Building on that base, four other singles make eight from the over, Khawaja keeping the strike.
19th over: Australia 97-1 (Khawaja 52, Handscomb 17) Jadeja successfully pins Khawaja back, finding his inside edge. He doesn’t give them a moment to breathe, nor me. Handscomb ends the over making room to collect one down the ground.
18th over: Australia 94-1 (Khawaja 51, Handscomb 15) Four dots from Kuldeep, which is a pretty good effort from a spinner in these middle overs. Handscomb twice picks out the men on the rope to turn the board over with his sweep, a shot he plays so very well.
“Morning Collo.” Nick Toovey, thanks for dropping by. “The most eye catching suggested change is the potential of free hits after No Balls in Test Cricket. But as the popular philosophy goes, if the foot falls over the line and the umpire never looks, will there ever be a free hit?”
There is surely no way that this will actually happen, so I’m not too worried. Yet. But to your broader point: precisely. The ICC last year told me that they decided against automating the no-ball process (per the England v Pakistan ODIs in 2016, a very successful trial) due to the cost. This is a much longer conversation, but needless to say, I’m fairly cynical about this.
“Bom dia, Adam.” Hello, Geoff Wignall. “Re, the ICC proposals, if there’s going to be a standard ball for Tests - apparently to ensure a balance between bat and ball - then isn’t there a case for a standard bat also? Or at least a standard weight?”
Urgh. All sounds pretty grim, doesn’t it?
Khawaja to 50!
17th over: Australia 91-1 (Khawaja 51, Handscomb 12) My usual disclaimer here about Jadeja’s 60-75 second overs: they will be short updates when he is operating. Four singles are taken from this his second set, the first of those moving Khawaja beyond 50 for the third time on the trot. He’s had a wonderful series, leaving no doubt that he will be appearing in his first World Cup midyear.
16th over: Australia 87-1 (Khawaja 49, Handscomb 10) Handscomb taking up from where he left off on Sunday during his maiden ODI ton, thumping a sweep shot into a gap that barely exists to pick up his first boundary. Kuldeep throws the next one up too and it finds Handscomb’s bottom edge when trying to sweep again, but it is so slight that it manages to bisect the ‘keeper Pant and Rohit at first slip. It means four more runs, too. With that, they take a drink. This is nicely set up.
“End of the over and we’re gonna have a little slurp”....ie it’s drinks. Yuck.
— Nigel Danvers (@nigeldanvers) March 13, 2019
15th over: Australia 77-1 (Khawaja 48, Handscomb 1) Well, what a fine first over from Jadeja, reinforcing in the space of a couple of minutes why he will surely be one of the first picked in this Indian XI when it matters most in June. The crowd are ALIVE at Delhi as well. Handscomb ends the successful over for the hosts with a single behind square to get off the mark and retain the strike.
WICKET! Finch b Jadeja 27 (Australia 76-1)
Just when Finch looked to be turning a bit of a corner he’s missed a pearler of a delivery from Jadeja that straightened and turned from around the wicket, beating the right-hander’s blade and crashing into his off-stump.
14th over: Australia 73-0 (Khawaja 45, Finch 27) Kuldeep begins spraying a wide before giving Finch one in his swinging arc, the captain popping it comfortably over long-on for four. This is far from the most fluent Finch innings but he is still there. Those runs in the bank early in the over, he’s happy enough playing out the rest with caution.
13th over: Australia 67-0 (Khawaja 44, Finch 23) Bumrah continues to Finch, who is only striking at 60 but not willing to take any risks against his nemesis. After defending the first four balls, the captain pushes cleanly from the crease out the sweeper at deep cover for a couple, the only runs from this set.
12th over: Australia 65-0 (Khawaja 44, Finch 21) One step, two steps, BOOM! Khawaja is down the track to Kuldeep and popping him into the stands at long-on; Australia’s first six. It shouldn’t bother the spinner too much, who loves to throw the ball up to give himself a chance. But with five over runs also taken to the sweepers it makes for an expensive start, 11 taken from his first over.
11th over: Australia 54-0 (Khawaja 35, Finch 19) Bumrah is once again is keeping the Australians honest here, offering up only a steered single by Khawaja and a clipped one from Finch. What a luxury it is bringing him on first change.
10th over: Australia 52-0 (Khawaja 34, Finch 18) The half-century partnership is raised with a lovely clip from Finch out to the midwicket rope, the pair getting back for three. This is the third time they have got to 50 together in this series, prompting a conversation about Australia’s best combination for the World Cup when it arrives with Warner back into the XI. Khawaja will surely be in that side one way or another, probably at three. He keeps the strike with another perfect flick to the deep square sweeper to complete the power play fielding restrictions.
9th over: Australia 47-0 (Khawaja 32, Finch 15) Excellent from Bumrah, a man these Australians have such a high regard for. The only run this over is via Khawaja’s inside edge, Finch ever so careful protecting his stumps thereafter. There’s an appeal for lbw when he misses with the blade, but it is going over.
8th over: Australia 46-0 (Khawaja 31, Finch 15) Me, oh my! Usman, again, with the most captivating straight drive to keep the good times rolling in this power play. He respects the rest of the Bhuvi over, setting himself up for an innings that goes deep into these 50 overs. He keeps the strike to third man.
“Evening Adam.” Morning where I am, Phil. G’day. “A little off topic but the ICC proposals to change test cricket are, frankly, preposterous. It seems to part of a process, intentional or not, to add a T20 aspect to the game. Why is there this constant need to tamper with something that is perfect already? Also the haphazard nature of the stands remind me of Southampton’s old ground, The Dell which was possibly the most idiosyncratic football ground ever built.”
I’m just getting across all this via twitter, but here are some of the news points from the ICC. I’ll take a proper look during the drinks break. As for the stands, I love it too. Give me the Bangalore every day; at least 11 mini-stands around the ground by my count last year. Just about my favourite venue in the world.
7th over: Australia 41-0 (Khawaja 26, Finch 15) Bumrah is on first change and immediately calms things down a touch for the hosts, such is the authority he has had over these Australians in all formats over the last few months. He prompts some confusion too, Khawaja calling Finch through after prodding to point, the captain only just back into his ground at the danger end.
6th over: Australia 38-0 (Khawaja 23, Finch 15) Shami beats the outside edge more than any bowler I’ve seen. More than Damien Fleming, which is saying something. He does so here first up, sorting Finch out with an unplayable. The captain keeps his cool though, square driving past point for four next ball. Making it a really good over, he punches another four from the back foot through the gap at cover. Not a lot wrong with that set from Shami but two boundaries are taken from it, making eight for the innings so far in six overs.
5th over: Australia 30-0 (Khawaja 23, Finch 7) Khawaja gives Finch the strike back first ball of the Bhuvi over. He’s been doing his captain a good turn so far, taking ownership of this power play. Therefore, Finch is able to take a look for a few balls in defence before deflecting a single. Khawaja tries to nail another boundary to finish the set but the shot is cut off nicely at extra cover.
4th over: Australia 28-0 (Khawaja 22, Finch 6) Ohhhh! USMANIA IS HERE AGAIN! Yes, there is another clipped four early in the Shami over, but we have seen a few of them now today. Bread and butter he’s in this touch. The on-drive later in the set, though? Play that at my funeral. Stunning. He now has 305 runs for the series, which is more than (whisper it) Virat Kohli.
3rd over: Australia 19-0 (Khawaja 13, Finch 6) Much better from Finch, getting his feet going to drive a wide delivery through cover to the rope. Giving the strike back to Khawaja, there is a big shout for LBW when Bhuvi sneaks one between bat and pad from around the wicket. They don’t review - maybe they should have? It looked very, very close. Indeed, the replay now confirms that it would have been umpire’s call. Ob la di. Next up, Bhuvi again attacks the stumps but Khawaja is well up to the task, clipping away with supreme timing behind square for four.
2nd over: Australia 9-0 (Khawaja 8, Finch 1) Shami, back into the Indian team after missing the fourth ODI through injury, beats Finch with a good’un begin. Oh, and next up, the captain is an inch or two away from another two-ball duck, nearly chopping on with a miscued cut! It gets him off the mark, though. Phew. Khawaja’s turn and, by contrast, he’s in lovely touch, leaning into a crisp and compact cover drive to record a second boundary in as many overs.
My eternal thanks to @GeoffLemonSport for transcribing this masterpiece four years ago pic.twitter.com/pz4xhtj4NO
— Alex Paull (@alex_paull) March 13, 2019
1st over: Australia 4-0 (Khawaja 4, Finch 0) Khawaja takes the first ball rather than Finch, which amuses Matthew Hayden - openers bantz, you see. “Alfie used to boss me around... you may look like a gladiator, but I am the boss!” Sorry, I’ll try not to mention him every other over. The left-hander is watchful to begin before clipping, rather gorgeously, through square leg for four to get his afternoon going.
The players are on the field! Finch and Khawaja are the Australian openers. Bhuvi, the King of Swing, has the ball in his hand for India. This should be FUN. Play!
Aaron Finch. The 93 he made on Friday in the third ODI was meant to set things straight after a truly awful home season, but the second ball blob he registered on Sunday - out in such familiar fashion, bowled through the gate - makes this innings another major test for the captain. Sure, he has three ODIs and a couple of T20s in the UAE against Pakistan coming up, so this is far from his last chance. But as we are seeing with Shaun Marsh, there are fine margins in a World Cup year.
I neglected to mention that if you’re new to the OBO, that this works best if we chat throughout. Find me in the usual places, on email or in the twitter swamp.
While we wait, I enjoyed Tanya’s Spin column yesterday about the domestic season we have waiting for us in England this year - the last one of its kind.
What to make of the Marsh omission? Before this series, he had put together a stretch of ODI form that had him considered the first Australia batsman picked for the World Cup. Now, after an injury and a quiet couple of games, he’s lost his spot. Meanwhile, Maxwell, Stoinis and Turner coming in one after another is tasty.
As for Chahal, it will concern him that Kohli sees the extra quick (Shami) as the combination they want in the WC. With Jadeja’s batting, it will make it tough for him to partner Kuldeep as India’s second spinner. That’s mighty stiff on the leggie.
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey (wk), Jhye Richardson, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon.
Aaron Finch has won the toss, Australia to bat first
The Australian skipper says the pitch is dry so the decision was easy. Shaun Marsh misses out for Marcus Stoinis (that’s significant) and spinner Nathan Lyon is back for quick Jason Behrendorff.
Kohli says that they would also have batted first. “This is more like a knock-out game for us. We have that kind of mentality. We are one of the best chasing teams in the world so we will have to show that today.”
As for the Indian team, leggie Chahal misses out for all-rounder Jadeja. And Shami returns from injury to take the new ball, at the expense of batsman KL Rahul. That’s also interesting. Kohli says this is pretty much the combination they are after when they arrive at the World Cup.
Welcome to the final (and it is a final!) ODI between India and Australia
Who would have thought when India went two-zip up in this series last week that Australia would take it to a fifth and deciding set? This is the Indian outfit that have won 12 of their last 13 ODI series against Aaron Finch’s side who have a worse record on the road than the Washington Generals since the 2015 World Cup.
Yet here we at Delhi, Australia with their wind at their back after a quite magnificent victory on Sunday in Mohali where they mounted their highest successful run chase in any ODI - getting to 359 with 13 balls to spare, if you don’t mind - thanks to Ashton Turner’s coming-of-age classic. The 84 he clobbered off 43 balls at the business end will surely have him on the World Cup flight.
As for the hosts, this is their last ODI before they arrive in the UK for the tournament that matters most, the IPL next on their players’ agenda. It raises the stakes on this fixture for those yet to book their own berth, such as KL Rahul who was given the chance to bat ahead of Kohli on Sunday and didn’t capitalise.
Right, we have a lot to get through between now and the first ball in about 30 minutes from now, not least the toss and teams coming up shortly. Reports from training yesterday indicate that Marcus Stoinis might be fit and should, therefore, come back into the XI. But for whom? That’ll be interesting.
To open the batting on the music today, I give you Sports Team! They are a band that I found the other day (thanks, Spotify), who have a lot of titles referencing cricket. Indeed, their EP last year was called Winter Nets. I’m hooked. Enjoy.
