Bye for now. With those comments, I’ll leave it there. We’ll be back for the series-deciding fifth ODI from Delhi on Wednesday. What a victory for this Australian team and what a moment for Ashton Turner. Thanks for your company!
Ashton Turner, Man of the Match, speaks. “I’m lost for words. I turned up today and Marcus Stoinis was doing a fitness test and he’s a pretty tough bloke so I thought I’d be running drinks. I’ve had a chance to hit lots of balls and had a lot of confidence I was ready to go. I thought India played really well; it was a great game of cricket. Batting is a lot of fun so if you get a chance to stay out there you enjoy it. I was very fortunate, it doesn’t always happen like that. Haydos has been great to me. I was very lucky to get my cap presented to me by him. I’m nervous standing with him. He’s been brilliant helping me in the nets. He’s a legend who I’ve always looked up to him so it is nice to hear he is saying nice things.”
Aaron Finch speaks. “I thought that partnership with Usman and Pete Handscomb was crucial. To get his first hundred was outstanding. When we chase 300 in Australia it was about going in that same process. It wasn’t a panic, even if it gets to 10 an over. It’s about taking it as deep as you can. I think it about guys taking their opportunities, Ashton playing his second game and playing a matchwinning knock. Pete has played 17 games too. Usman back into form and was crucial. Everyone who is getting an opportunity is taking it. We’ve all seen (Turner) do that in the Big Bash, it was a world-class knock and to see him take on two world-class bowlers was amazing.”
Virat Kohli speaks. “It was very difficult to bowl at the end. The guys tried their best. Ashton played a helluva knock. It was a game changer. They just played better in the second innings. It is a record chase for them and they deserved to win. We wanted to bat first anyway; had we won the toss we would have batted. It was always going to be tough with the bowlers (in the dew). But in the end, just the last three or four overs was difficult for everyone. When they were going hard it was crucial to bowl in the right areas. We were sloppy in the field. We should have made it more. The DRS was a surprise it is not consistent at all and becoming a talking point. It’s going to be a cracker of a game (on Wednesday). We need to be at our best to beat this Australian side. All the guys are gearing up for it. It is going to hurt the right way and we’ll come out with more intensity in the next game.”
What just happened?
Okay, let’s put this into perspective. When Glenn Maxwell fell, this was done. Yes, it was ten and over to win with 14 overs to go, and that happens in the T20 era. But this Australian team? This brittle Australian 50-over team? Surely not, even with Handscomb beyond 100 for the first time in ODIs. India, with 358, after having Australia 11/2 early on, surely just walk it in from there. They have to.
Ashton Turner walks out, only really in the team because Marcus Stoinis was unavailable with injury. He would be mindful, as we all are, that two blokes return on 29 March and are both going to the World Cup. Of all the players over there at the moment, he was more than likely the lowest on the depth chart, his chances of a World Cup berth not strong. Unless he did something just like this.
The striking down the ground kept the visitors within touching distance, even after Handscomb departed. When Carey came out, he became the senior man at the crease and only got better. In four overs when they got going, they added 64 runs to break the back of the chase. It was the stuff dreams are made of. It was the stuff that makes a career. It was the stuff that will lock away a trip to the UK.
Sure, Handscomb (117 from 105) came to the crease with Australia in so much strike. If not for the massive 192-run stand between he and Khawaja (91), nothing Turner does later is possible. But its the West Australian’s cricketing life that is changed tonight. Welcome to the big time, young man. Don’t change a thing.
And the cherry on top: this levels the series at 2-2 heading into what becomes a decider on Wedensday in Delhi! These bilaterial series often don’t mean an awful lot, but a quasi-final in a World Cup year? This has plenty riding on it. Magnificent.
We’ll hear from the skippers in a moment and then the Man of the Match.
Updated
AUSTRALIA WINS BY FOUR WICKETS with 13 balls to spare! (359/6: Turner 84* off 43 balls)
Australia’s highest successful run chase, the fifth highest in all ODIs ever played. Turner, quite rightly, strikes the winning runs with a couple down the ground. How to make sense of that? I’ll try! Stick with me for the post-game.
WICKET! Carey c Dhawan b Bumrah 21 (Australia 357-6)
Well, that’s not fair. Carey deserved to be there at the end. Instead, with two to win, he top edges an attempted flick, landing in the hands of Dhawan. The opener is able to smile, a nod to the dropped catch in the previous over.
47th over: Australia 351-5 (Turner 81, Carey 20) OH! ASHTON TURNER! This is GAME OVER at Mohali, the young man climbing into Bhuvi’s slower one to begin, popping him INTO THE CROWD at long on. Next? Dropped! Jadhav may have put down India’s final chance, at square leg, Turner gets his life. And uses it too, standing up tall to pull past square leg for yet another boundary - his strike rate is 197. Now dropped again! Oh dear, it’s probably game over anyway but at mid-off on the circle Dhawan, so magnificant earlier, has put down one of the easiest chances you will see at this level. Yes, the ball is slippery under the lights but that is really something. Carey’s turn... and he clips a four as well! Don’t forget The King in all this; he has 20 from 12 balls in this partnership of 80 in 35 deliveries, if you don’t mind! 18 off the over, Australia need eight in three overs. Astonishing. They’ve hit 64 in the last four overs.
46th over: Australia 333-5 (Turner 68, Carey 15) King Carey is into it too now! After adding a couple of twos the South Australian leans into an outstanding cut shot, into the gap and far away for four more. Turner’s turn now and he’s SCOOPED BUMRAH FOR SIX! What are you doing in June, Ashton? I RECKON YOU MIGHT BE REQUIRED IN ENGLAND. 16 from the over, leaving just 26 from 24 balls. Unbelievable performance this from the young West Australian.
Turner to 50!
45th over: Australia 317-5 (Turner 61, Carey 7) Dear me, Australia should probably win this from here! And if they do, it’ll be on the back of some superb Ashton Turner striking. This time around, he’s picked up a Bhuvi full toss and popped it over the rope at midwicket, next ball adjusting in the crease to pull him for four more into the gap at square leg to raise his first international half-century! 33 balls to get there, with three sixes and four fours. AND HE GOES AGAIN! What a shot! A flick off the pads, waaaaay into the crowd! 20 off the over! How about this performance, the Big Bash finisher is on the cusp of pulling off one of Australia’s most famous ODI wins. Make no mistake, this is exactly what it would be. Matt Hayden says it is because he has “a West Australian muscle group.” Strike lambs!
44th over: Australia 297-5 (Turner 42, Carey 7) Matthew Hayden has said “levers” approximately 14 times since Turner came to the crease. Is this a dare? Performance art? Are we being punk’d? Meanwhile in the middle, Pant misses a legside stumping that would have been the end of Turner. Once again the crowd start chanting Dhoni’s name. Then, another Chahal wide gives Australia two runs before a ball is bowled. Pant is involved again trying to execute a reverse flick onto Carey’s stumps but it doesn’t hit, so they take an overthrow, prompting more Dhoni chanting. Bit grim. The TV umpire is called upon to look at another chance for Pant. It isn’t stumped but he likes it for caught behind too, convincing Kohli to review it. Phew. Take a breath. Right, there is a mark on the snicko but the third ump - much the annoyance of the aforementioned agitated crowd - has assessed that the movement is after the ball went by the bat. After all of that, three wides and a couple of chances later, ten runs come from the ramshakle over, which means Australia are still, broadly, on track for victory. Right??
43rd over: Australia 287-5 (Turner 38, Carey 4) Bumrah to Carey to start the fresh over with Australia needing 78 from 48, he takes the one to long-on, right to give the strike back to Turner. However, the Indian No1 has so many tricks and uses them to him quiet for three balls on the bounce. However, in keeping with the theme of his innings so far, he responds with a gorgeously timed steer behind point for four. One ball to go - can he go big from it again? Nup. An edge to third man, but he does keep the strike with it. 72 off 42 is the updated equation.
42nd over: Australia 281-5 (Turner 33, Carey 3) Turner is really looking the part tonight. He had one ball to turn a bad over into a good one and smashed Chahal over wide mid-on for his second SIX! He only had the chance to do so after Carey picked up three from the penultimate delivery as a result of an overthrow.
WICKET! Handscomb c Rahul b Chahal 117 (Australia 271-5)
Nicely bowled Chahal, holding the pace back a bit on that so that Handscomb did not get much of his attempted lofted drive, holing out to Rahul running in from long-off. The end of a fine innings; 117 in 105 giving Australia hope they never looked destined to have after losing two wickets in the first two overs chasing 359.
41st over: Australia 271-4 (Handscomb 117, Turner 26) HAVE THAT! Turner sizes up Kuldeep’s first delivery and lofts him right back over his head FOR SIX! It’s a beautiful shot too - hold that pose. Ahead in the count, so to speak, they are happy to take singles to the sweepers for the rest of the over, ten the damage for India.
“Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling average of 20.84 is frankly as ridiculous as Kohli’s batting average of 59.80,” emails Abhijato Sensarma. Be careful making comparisons with Virat or Tendulkar! In my experience, it never ends well. Alas, please continue. “We need to take an unbelieving bow for the young man. It’s been one elongated purple patch for the leggie (which means it has translated into something more indicative of his skills), and I think the degree of his success at this World Cup will decide Kuldeep’s position amidst the all-time ODI greats!”
40th over: Australia 261-4 (Handscomb 114, Turner 19) Cleeeever from Handscomb, getting his bat down to a quick yorker from Bhuvi, through the legs fine leg for four. They are making out on TV as if that wasn’t intentional but I reckon he shifted his back foot a touch there at the perfect moment, suggesting that he had a vague idea of what he was doing, per Nat Sciver’s skills during the 2017 Women’s World Cup. They’ve now put on 32 in 23 balls with Turner looking good too, striking the ball hard into the gaps both sides of the wicket. We’re into the final ten overs now with Australia needing 98 for the win. Buckle up.
39th over: Australia 252-4 (Handscomb 109, Turner 15) Nice batting young man! Turner gets himself consecutive boundaries off Kuldeep via a blistering straight drive then a punishing sweep. Mitch Johnson, on TV, is a big fan of his former teammate’s long arms and they are doing the trick. Handscomb should be done for later in the over, dancing and missing, but the small deflection off his pad deceives Pant, who can’t get his gloves down in town to what would have been an otherwise certain stumping. Of course, the DHONI chant goes around the stadium; RIP Rishabh’s twitter mentions over the next 24 hours. Handscomb makes India pay for the missed cjance, slapping the next ball, a half-tracker, to midwicket for four more. 13 off that over, then. They’re alive.
38th over: Australia 239-4 (Handscomb 105, Turner 6) Chahal does what he’s good at here: a couple of wrong’uns, a couple of flat toppies and a couple of big-turning leggies to keep the batsmen honest. They can’t get hold of him.
MOST RUNS THIS SERIES
— Rob Forsaith (@robforsaith) March 10, 2019
Virat Kohli: 290 @ 72.5
Usman Khawaja: 283 @ 70.75#INDvAUS
37th over: Australia 233-4 (Handscomb 103, Turner 2) Ashton Turner has shown in T20 cricket that he very much tick along at 10 an over, which is roughly what Australia need now. He’s off the mark down the ground, exchanging four singles with Handscomb to end the successful Kuldeep over. The good news for the Australians is that the man with three figures to his name keeps the strike.
WICKET! Maxwell lbw b Kuldeep 23 (Australia 229-4)
In the space of a moment, that should be game over. Maxwell missed his reverse sweep and was given out lbw on the field, DRS confirming where the ball was heading: middle stump. Kuldeep, so consistent against Australia since his debut, is into the book with the first delivery of his vital second spell.
36th over: Australia 229-3 (Handscomb 101, Maxwell 23) Chahal has four overs to go as well, back into the attack with Maxwell up the business end, who sweeps two into the gap to begin then takes the single on offer to long-off. That’s good bowling from Chahal. Handscomb then gives the strike back to Maxwell, who has two balls to go big... AND HE DOES! He didn’t absolutely time that slap over midwicket but he’s done enough to clear the rope. “It was pure muscle,” is the assessment of Harsha Bhogle on TV. Maxwell goes in that direction again from the final ball, picking the gap well enough to get the pair back for a third run, which means he also keeps the strike. 13 from the over all told, leaving 130 from 84 balls at 9.3 for Australia to pull off something fairly ridiculous.
Handscomb to 100!
35th over: Australia 216-3 (Handscomb 100, Maxwell 11) Bhuvi’s back now too, with five overs up his sleeve. Maxwell pushes him to mid-off for one, giving the strike to Handscomb on 99, who absorbs three dots trying to find the one run that would mean so much to him and for his World Cup chances. And he gets it! Not the most conventional way, missing a short slower ball and racing through. The commentators believe that he said to Maxwell that he didn’t actually hit it, but it matters little when raising the bat. The replay confirms that it actually hit him on the elbow on the blade. Anyway, back to Maxwell who has one final chance to make a dent this over and is happy enough keeping the strike with a single. Handscomb’s ton, his first in ODIs, was raised in 92 balls with three sixes and six fours. Having arrived with Australia 11/2, he has given them a chance. Well batted.
34th over: Australia 213-3 (Handscomb 99, Maxwell 9) WHAT A SHOT from Maxwell to get off the mark first ball, somehow placing a crossbat prod past mid-on and to the rope. Bumrah, of course, bounces back with a gorgeous delivery that hits the seam and beats the Victorian outside the off-stump. Maxwell makes room next up but picks out point who either had to stop the ball or have his face broken by it. Now four more! Maxwell gets inside the bumper, helping it on its way to the fine leg rope; lovely placement. He keeps the strike with a hack to midwicket, ending a most eventful - and successful - Bumrah set. This is compelling viewing.
Updated
WICKET! Khawaja c Kuldeep b Bumrah 91 (Australia 204-3)
First ball after the drinks break, Khawaja takes on Bumrah’s bouncer but doesn’t get anywhere near enough of it, the top edge well taken by Kuldeep down at long leg, who did well to keep his cool with the ball high in the night sky.
33rd over: Australia 204-2 (Khawaja 91, Handscomb 99) Important over for Australia against Jadhav, the final of the ten required from India’s fifth bowler, and Handscomb responds accordingly with back to back sixes! On both occasions he came down the track before flat-batting the spinner over his head; two fine strikes. Khawaja comes close to nailing another boundary with a reverse sweep, Handscomb making up for it with a beautifully placed slap past point to make 19 off the over as they gather their thoughts at the drinks break. That was precisely what Australian needed, at the perfect time. The rate from here is 9.1 an over but they have, crucially, got it down to a conventional enough T20 equation: 155 from 102. Oh, and Handscomb is one run away from his maiden ODI ton. Neeeearly game on.
Updated
32nd over: Australia 185-2 (Khawaja 89, Handscomb 82) It is Bumrah, who bowled four overs in his earlier spell, picking up Shaun Marsh with a yorker. There are reports of dew now on the field too, which should complicate matters for the fielding team if the ball can start pinging around. It doesn’t here though, India’s second good over in a row with only five singles coming. Australia need 174 from 108 deliveries. India, on the other hand, might be happy enough with these two staying there if they can’t get consistently above 9/10 RPO. They must do so now.
31st over: Australia 180-2 (Khawaja 86, Handscomb 80) What a fantastic over from Jadhav, who is doing a lot more than your usual sixth bowler. The maths for Kohli are helped considerably, having to now get just one more out of the sidearm spinner or Shankar. Australia are going to have to pull the trigger with Bhuvi and Bumrah racing in with 11 overs left between them - a high degree of difficulty.
NOT OUT! Wow! That looked very, very out! Jadhav going around the wicket, hitting Khawaja who was sweeping, leg stump visible. But no, the tracker shows the delivery sliding down leg. The Indian fielders cannot believe it.
Updated
KHAWAJA GIVEN LBW! He is reviewing. Stand by.
30th over: Australia 177-2 (Khawaja 84, Handscomb 79) Hiyooooo! Pete Handscomb hits Australia’s first SIX, lifting Chahal straight over his head and into the giant sight screen. That’s a handsome shot indeed. Along with five other singles, that gives Australia 11 from it. The required rate is 9.1 but it is worth keeping in perspective that they’re not yet half way to the total. In short: these two probably need to collect 90-100 off the next ten. Something like that.
29th over: Australia 166-2 (Khawaja 81, Handscomb 71) Well bowled, Kuldeep. He’s backed in Chahal’s best over of the night with an accurate one of his own, four singles all that is on offer for the Australians, who have put on 154 from 153 balls. “Australia have backed themselves into a corner,” continues Hayden.
28th over: Australia 162-2 (Khawaja 79, Handscomb 69) This is the 11th over of wrist spin on the bounce from India. Chahal again locates Handscomb’s inside edge early in the over but it gets him down the other end. It’s the start of a fine set from the leggie bringing just three singles for the Australians, the last two deliveries to Khawaja right on the money, forcing him to carefully defend. India were 161-0 at this stage, TV tells me, for what very little that is worth. Matthew Hayden is still arguing that they aren’t going hard enough, though (I think?).
27th over: Australia 159-2 (Khawaja 78, Handscomb 67) Six from the Kuldeep over, all in the smaller currency. Khawaja missed out on a chance to put him into the stands, already in position for the reverse sweep when a full toss arrived. Such is life, as my great, great (great?) uncle wrote.
26th over: Australia 153-2 (Khawaja 73, Handscomb 66) Handscomb is doing a fine job of proving why he is considered the best player of spin in this Australian set up, getting into perfect position to sweep Chahal and timing it superbly to the rope behind square. He tries to play the slog-version of the shot to finish but misses out. The crowd is quiet, knowing that this pair are ticking along pretty well. Sure, the visitors have a mile to go, but they also know that Maxwell is the next man in.
25th over: Australia 145-2 (Khawaja 72, Handscomb 59) Khawaja has been all class but Handscomb is equally determined to get resourceful. Although that nearly backfires here when attempting to flick a straight Kuldeep delivery that only just kisses his inside edge before striking the back pad. The Indians appeal but it is turned down due to the tickle so they don’t go upstairs with it. Khawaja’s turn, and he’s cutting three into the region behind point not protected by a sweeper - that’s very good batting. Kuldeep again finds a Handscomb edge on the way through to his pad later in the set, then the outside of his blade to finish, albeit away from the man slip. Half way through this chase and the required run rate for Australia is 8.55 an over yet they feel just within touching distance, for mine.
24th over: Australia 140-2 (Khawaja 69, Handscomb 57) Khawaja starts with a deft shovel fine to start off Chahal, for a couple. The leggie wins Handscomb’s edge the one time he doesn’t dance down the track at him. It feels like something is going to happen sooner rather than later, this chase very nearly into game-on territory.
23rd over: Australia 134-2 (Khawaja 66, Handscomb 55) Kuldeep misses his length at the start of the fresh over, Handscomb smashing a full toss through midwicket for the easiest runs he will score out there in this chase. The bouncy spinner is back on top by the end of the set with three dots in a row at the Victorian, twice finding his inside edge from false strokes. A nice little contest between these two.
Handscomb to 50!
22nd over: Australia 128-2 (Khawaja 65, Handscomb 50) “Australia need to be careful not to leave too much for Maxwell,” says Harsha Bhogle on TV. I wonder whether they might be tempted popping Turner in ahead of him at the fall of the next wicket? Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t. But don’t be surprised on the basis that they will want him there for the final ten overs if the game is live. This task is helped again by Khawaja who is well on the way to back to back tons, crunching a reverse sweep off Chahal to the boundary behind point. Talk about a reversal in fortunes for the left-hander and this stroke, which not long ago got him in plenty of strife. In the space of 18 months, he’s become one of the best exponents of it in world cricket. Indeed, it’s a big part of why he is back in the canary yellow. Meanwhile, Handsomb joins him with a half-century to his name, reaching the milestone from his 55th delivery with a push down the ground to keep the strike.
Updated
21st over: Australia 119-2 (Khawaja 60, Handscomb 46) Kuldeep is back now too, wrist spinners operating in tandem. Expect to see plenty of this in the World Cup from a whole bunch of sides. He’s a classy operator this left-armer, prompting a couple of reverse sweep attempts from Khawaja. The first works, two runs added. The second doesn’t, ever so close to the back of the bat and a certain chance.
20th over: Australia 114-2 (Khawaja 57, Handscomb 44) Chahal, into the Indian XI today, gets his first bowl of the innings. The last time I was OBOing his handiwork at the MCG in January he took a matchwinning bag. They’ve clearly done their planning for him here through, immediately coming down the track to try and mess with his length. The leggie’s class shines through all the same, spinning back past Khawaja’s inside edge, very unlucky to miss everything including Pant’s gloves to give up four byes. This pair have added 100 at better than a run a ball.
19th over: Australia 105-2 (Khawaja 56, Handscomb 40) Eight more from Jadhav’s third over, which started with a crisp sweep from Khawaja down to the rope at deep backward square leg. That’s the fourth over in a row with a boundary after nine where they scored exclusively in 1s and 2s. In other words, they are going up the gears nicely through these middle overs. Time for a strike bowler, I fancy.
Khawaja to 50!
18th over: Australia 97-2 (Khawaja 50, Handscomb 38) Kohli is determined to get his fifth bowler overs out of the way right now by the looks, Shankar going again. Khawaja is up for that, clipping the first ball to backward square for four. He’s been very good off his pads tonight. By the end of the over, completing it with a single to cover, he’s able to raise his bat for a half-century, coming form 52 deliveries with half a dozen boundaries so far. The perfect way to back up his ton from Friday.
17th over: Australia 90-2 (Khawaja 44, Handscomb 37) There we go, a boundary the ball before drinks and another from the first delivery after, Handscomb advancing to Jadhav with a degree of contempt, smashing him over midwicket. Later, the same batsman is cutting out to the other vacant area for three more, completing Australia’s first double-digit over of this chase.
16th over: Australia 80-2 (Khawaja 42, Handscomb 29) After about 45 minutes without a boundary, Khawaja coming down the track to crunch Shankar through the covers for four. With four other singles along the way, it makes eight from the over, this partnership now 68 from 75 balls. They grab themselves a drink with Australia needing 8.21 an over from here to keep the series alive.
15th over: Australia 72-2 (Khawaja 36, Handscomb 27) Sure enough, in this effort to push through some cheap overs Jadhav is on with his sidearm specials. Say what you will about them (and I’ve said plenty), they are accurate as they are annoying. Just the four singles, both men negating the angle and what turn there is by using their feet to push down to the sweepers at long-off and long-on. To be fair, one of the great things about ODI cricket is that there is still room for a bowler like this to punch out a few overs while there isn’t a lot going on.
Plug! I have the a county cricket Fantasy League to share, perfect for those who follow County Cricket Live! during the summer months. “All are welcome,” reports administrator Chris Dew. “Currently, we’re filling leagues 4 and 5. The links are
D4 https://cricketxi.com/county-championship-2019/league/532/with the code KMHXNGSRD5 is https://cricketxi.com/county-championship-2019/league/533/with the code NCSJMUSW
I’m going to pop a team in once I’m finished up here. Get involved.
14th over: Australia 68-2 (Khawaja 34, Handscomb 25) Shankar skips through another over that both sides will be relatively fine with, six coming from it including a legside wide. This is definitely the right time to squeeze out as many overs as possible from the fifth bowler, which Kohli will be mindful of no doubt.
13th over: Australia 62-2 (Khawaja 32, Handscomb 22) Six singles this time from Kuldeep’s second over, the method from this pair logical. For now, at least. Leave Maxwell 150-200-ish at 8s when he arrives and see what happens. About right?
12th over: Australia 56-2 (Khawaja 29, Handscomb 19) Welcome to the middle-overs grind. To be fair, Shankar has done it well here, attacking the stumps with a couple of changes of pace along the way. Both batsmen are happy enough taking the singles on offer, four of them in this instance. The required rate is now just above 8RPO, but that’s not an enormous concern in this day and age.
11th over: Australia 52-2 (Khawaja 27, Handscomb 17) Bring on the spin. Kuldeep is getting the first chance to twirl the Australians out now that the field is back. But the relatively set pair know the drill here, taking five singles along the carpet around the ground to the various sweepers in position. Of note, Handscomb is immediately using his feet against the turning ball. Oh, and the 50 is up!
10th over: Australia 47-2 (Khawaja 25, Handscomb 14) Vijay Shankar, the 50th over hero earlier in this series, sends down the final over with the field up. And he nearly gets the breakthrough too, Khawaja mistiming to mid-on with the ball landing just short of Bumrah inside the circle. Kohli saves a certain four later in the set, Handscomb striking his cover drive well but in the vicinity of the wrong fielder. The required rate for Australia as the field spreads is 7.82 runs an over. On TV, Mitch Johnson isn’t worried about those two early wickets.
9th over: Australia 43-2 (Khawaja 22, Handscomb 13) Bhuvi is given a fifth in this power play and it begins with another striking Khawaja boundary through midwicket. He’s upstoppable when timing the ball like this. Giving the strike back to Handscomb, the Victorian captain is happy to play out the rest defensively.
Have we ever considered that Aaron Finch is just a bad pseudonym for Derryn Hinch? The Human Headline and the Human Head-Outside-The-Line? I'm spitballing, just work with me here.
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) March 10, 2019
8th over: Australia 38-2 (Khawaja 17, Handscomb 13) “Ahhhhh!” swoons the new man onto the TV commentary. “It’s the Two Bs!” Yep, you better believe that’s Matthew Hayden on the 1s and 2s at Mohali. Khawaja enjoys himself here against Bumrah, whipping him behind square for one boundary then playing the same shot but in front of the umpire for a second. Delightful batting from the man who collected his maiden ODI ton the last time these teams met. He was a long way from ODI calculations a year or so ago but now looks a lock for the World Cup.
“I was in Vietnam for three months during my kindergarten years,” writes Abhijato Sensarma. “My father had a job there for a year or so. The place has some of the loveliest and most hospitable people I know. It’s a lovely country, and somewhere people must go to at some point of their lives, if only to be enriched by the positive vibes and enigmatic dragon-shaped balloon sellers you are met with everywhere!”
Yep, that lines up with my impression after a week there; so upbeat and welcoming. Here begins my campaign to get cricket there in a meaningful way.
7th over: Australia 29-2 (Khawaja 8, Handscomb 13) Khawaja glides the first ball of Bhuvi’s new over to third man but Handscomb can’t find a gap to get off strike throughout the rest of this very accurate set. Indeed, Khawaja wasn’t far away from finding himself short at the non-strikers’ end when Handscomb’s straight drive clipped Bhuvi’s fingers in his follow through. Close call.
6th over: Australia 28-2 (Khawaja 7, Handscomb 13) Nice strike rotation, initially from Khawaja before Handscomb turns Bumrah behind square for three. Three other singles makes seven from the other. Australia’s ability to make a serious go of this will depend on these two building a base for 20-plus overs. They have both played long enough to realise that, so don’t expect many risks any time soon.
5th over: Australia 21-2 (Khawaja 4, Handscomb 9) Much better from Handscomb, watching the first half of Bhuvi’s over carefully before leaning into a cover drive that he times through the gap and to the rope. More of that, Peter.
4th over: Australia 17-2 (Khawaja 4, Handscomb 5) Bold from Handscomb to begin, playing with the angled bat outside the off stump despite the fact that Kohli has two men catching in the cordon. The outside edge wasn’t far away from the second of those slips but instead earns him four runs at the first time of asking.
Watching the replay of Bumrah’s delivery to Marsh, it swung away in the air before nipping back off the seam. Just what fast bowlers dream of. He’s such a delight.
WICKET! S Marsh b Bumrah 6 (Australia 12-2)
Yorker! Marsh was nowhere near it, the ball kissing the off-stump at the base. Bumrah’s summer of dominance against the Australians continues. A beauty.
3rd over: Australia 11-1 (Khawaja 3, S Marsh 6) Shot! Shaun Marsh gets just enough width from Bhuvi to square drive him to the rope for Australia’s first boundary. As they note on the TV comms, as a veteran of the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL (I think he’s played every season there?), he knows this ground back to front.
2nd over: Australia 6-1 (Khawaja 2, S Marsh 2) Oooh, Bumrah finds a thick inside edge from Khawaja’s blade that is not far at all from crashing into his leg stump. That finished the otherwise uneventful opening set from the Indian attack leader, Marsh watching him carefully before deflecting one to third man.
“You’re OBO-ing with eleven hours jet-lag?” asks Andrew Benton. “Now that’s serious commitment.” Not quite! I was en route back from Vietnam, a holiday that was partially planned by OBO emailers last summer. So it was only right that I jumped immediately on the tools upon my return. What a wonderful country.
1st over: Australia 4-1 (Khawaja 1, S Marsh 1) Marsh is off the mark first ball to mid-on, Khawaja opening his own account before the Finch dismissal with a push to midwicket. This experienced pair have a truckload of work to do.
WICKET! Finch b Bhuvneshwar 0 (Australia 3-1)
Bowled for a duck! A classic Bhuvi wicket and a relatively familiar Finch dismissal too, the captain beaten through a big gap between bat and pad, his stumps flying.
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The players are back on the field! Finch and Khawaja, who put on 193 for the first wicket at Ranchi, are walking out followed by Kohli and co. Bhuvi has the ball in his hand. PLAY!
Thanks, Geoffrey. Hello everyone. I enjoyed the first half of that innings via the OBO en route to my place from Heathrow, arriving to the sofa with India no wickets down and looking every chance of setting 400-plus with Kohli in the sheds. But from that point it wasn’t a bad little fightback from Australia, the target kept short of astronomical by taking nine wickets through the final 19 overs.
Even so, 358 is the second highest tally made by India against Australia batting first and also the second highest score made at Mohali where the average tally is 299. In the previous ODI there last summer, Rohit made 208* out of 392/4.
Pat Cummins’ bag of five probably won’t be one he’ll look back at too often on youtube, but it showed again that he is a threat at either end of a 50-over innings and reinforced again that he will be one of the first names inked on the Australian teamsheet come June when they begin their World Cup defence.
It is looking ahead to that tournament where a lot of the focus will be over Australia’s next few weeks on the road. With Smith and Warner returning, a new man to the squad Ashton Turner will realise that the only way that he gets on the plane to England is with a matchwinning turn. Here today, for instance. We’ll see.
As for the hosts, it spoke to their own midyear planning that Kohli came in at four rather than three, giving KL Rahul an opportunity. With the ball, Chahal and Bhuvi - into the XI for this game - are in the shop window. If they can defend 358, India will claim the trophy to secure a 13th series win in their previous 14 attempts.
Australia must chase 359 to win
So India get their 350 total in the end. They might not have expected to get there nine down, but it doesn’t matter. Perhaps Australia can take some heart that they could have been chasing 400 at one stage, but in the end the wickets they’ve taken and a number of tidy overs haven’t made a huge amount of difference. It will still take one hell of a chase.
Rohit and Dhawan did over half the work, putting on 193 for the opening stand just as Finch and Khawaja did for Australia in the previous match. Rohit was annoyed to be out for 95, while Dhawan went on to 143. No one else struck the ball quite as cleanly, and Kohli had a rare failure, but Rishabh Pant’s 36 off 24 gave the innings a late boost, while Shankar’s 26 off 16 rounded it off. Bumrah gleefully placed the single cherry atop the cake.
Pat Cummins got bashed around for 70 from his 10 overs, but did end up with five wickets. I’m not sure he’ll recall this as one of his fondest bowling experiences, nonetheless. Much like the five-for he took while Australia was being destroyed in a Test match in Johannesburg just under a year ago. Richardson got three wickets, but also went for 85 during his overs. Zampa came off best with 1 for 57 from 10, and Behrendorff’s 0 for 61 wasn’t too bad. Maxwell conceded the same number but from eight overs.
At the innings break, it’s time to hand the baton to Adam Collins as we see what kind of work Australia can produce in this chase.
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50th over: India 358-9 (Kuldeep 1, Bumrah 6) Who would have thought, when that opening partnership was flying, that India would get down to their No11? But it’s just as well they have, because Jasprit Bumrah has smashed Cummins down the ground for six! What a moment! Clears his leg, goes through the line, and while I think he was aiming a bit more long-off it gets good enough contact to clear long-on!
People, this is Jasprit Bumrah. Before today he had once made 10 not out in an ODI innings, and aside from that had made one run from his other seven innings. He’d been out five times for that one run. And now, today, he has come out and bashed his first ball for six, finishing not out with a strike rate of 600. That is a wonder.
Ah, the glorious strangeness of cricket. And for once the team playing was just as excited as the stats nerds watching on. The entire Indian dugout erupted with Bumrah’s shot. Kohli was jumping up and down on the spot, laughing and applauding. They have enjoyed themselves immensely today.
“That Bumrah six has taken over the top spot from Glenn McGrath on the list of the most joyful sixes!” emails Pratik Dubey.
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WICKET! Chahal c & b Cummins 0 (1 ball), India 352-9
Yuzvendra Chahal makes a golden duck after Kuldeep takes a single, pushing forward and popping the ball back to the bowler. Cummins tells the umpire he isn’t sure if the catch was clean, so they have a look. It’s very clean and caught well above the ground, so I don’t know what the issue was there. Did Cummins think it was a bump ball?
WICKET! Shankar c Maxwell b Cummins 26 (15 balls), India 351-8
Cummins will bowl the final over, and Shankar will shuffle away to belt him for six! The ball isn’t that full but Shankar is able to play a sort of drive while holding the bat relatively high, allowing him to play through the line with a straight bat and get enough power to clear long-on. But his subsequent attempt after a wide and a dot doesn’t make clean contact, and instead goes a mile up in the air for Maxwell to trot in from deep midwicket and take a cupped catch while wearing a broad-brimmed gold hat.
WICKET! Bhuvneshwar c Carey b Richardson 1 (2 balls)
49th over: India 344-7 (Shankar 20) Shankar finds a way! He knows what Richardson will do, so he backs away from the short ball and plays a forehand smash down the ground! Dead straight and over the rope for six. Richardson switches up and aims for the stumps, so Shankar clears his front leg and wallops straight for four more. They have mid-on and mid-off in the circle for him, even though he likes to hit straight. That might change now... Shankar tries to back away to the third ball but Richardson follows him and the ball sneaks between body and stumps, hitting Carey and bouncing off him for a bye. A couple more singles follow, and the new batsman Bhuvneshwar tries to uppercut the sixth ball over Carey’s head, but only lands it in his gloves.
“Hi Geoff, please put Me Lee’s mind at ease,” writes the kind-hearted Ravi Raman. “Hockey has a large following and most of those fans don’t care much for cricket. I think Dr Rohit is playing with a straight bat after all.”
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WICKET! Jadhav c Richardson b Cummins 10 (12 balls)
48th over: India 331-6 (Shankar 9) Cummins makes the same tactic work for him, and also when he mixes in some length balls India can’t get them further than a boundary rider either. Five balls, five singles, and after about four overs without a boundary the pressure tells. Jadhav walks at Cummins, several strides down the pitch, and pulls but can’t get more than half a bat on it. Richardson a few paces in from the boundary accepts the catch.
47th over: India 326-5 (Jadhav 8, Shankar 6) Richardson bowling, and he’s realised that unlike Dhawan, this pair can’t find the boundary off his short balls. The outfielders are well placed. Singles and a two. It would have been an excellent over if a couple of wides hadn’t blown the scoring out to nine. Just in searching for that short ball at the body Richardson slipped down the leg side a couple of times.
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46th over: India 317-5 (Jadhav 6, Shankar 1) Vijay Shankar is the next man in, and he’s been doing a job for India with bat and ball this series. He glides his first ball to third man for a single, then helps Jadhav get a second run after a bunt to midwicket. Four from the over – Australia’s bowlers have done well to find a few cheap overs and a chance of suppressing this total from what it could have been. Still time for India to do the last bit of damage, though.
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WICKET! Pant c Finch b Cummins 36 (24 balls), India 314-5
The audition is over, but he’s done his job. Having found the field once against Cummins, Pant decides to go over the top of it, but can only drag his hit low to the opposing captain at mid-on.
45th over: India 313-4 (Pant 36, Jadhav 3) When Pant is out there, it all happens at once. I’ll do my best, hang on. First, the left-hander clouts a booming straight hit from Zampa into the sight screen. Then, the left-hander becomes a right-hander in stance, though doesn’t change his grip, and tries a standing reverse-sweep. He bottom edges it into what is now his back foot, and accidentally kicks it past what used to be his off stump. Somehow, he isn’t bowled. Next ball, he steps back and pulls a not-so-short ball for four. He ends the over at 36 from 22. This audition is a bit like Heath Ledger’s for the Joker: deeply unorthodox improvisation but still nailing each line.
44th over: India 301-4 (Pant 25, Jadhav 2) Now it’s Kedar Jadhav who has to settle at the crease, while Pant finds the boundary rider a couple of times, allowing Maxwell to get through an over for five singles.
WICKET! Rahul c Carey b Zampa 26 (31 balls)
43rd over: India 296-4 (Pant 22) Fine work from Zampa! A tight over conceding only four singles leaves Rahul searching for a boundary from the final ball. He decides to glide a ball off his stumps hoping to beat third man into the fence. Instead he only guides a fat edge into the keeper’s gloves. The umpire doesn’t move but Rahul gives himself out, knowing from the voracity of the bowler’s appeal that this call will definitely be reviewed if he stands his ground.
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42nd over: India 292-3 (Rahul 24, Pant 20) Well, well, well. Rishabh Pant is seen as a wild child, a slogger, the kid who comes in during Test matches and defies tradition by trying to plonk wild hoicks into the seats. Here in the 50-over format, he just steps into a cover drive and creams it for four! Gorgeous shot using Richardson’s pace, then the next is even better as he takes what was so close to being a yorker, closes the face of his bat, and drives it – no other description is apt – through a wide midwicket for four more. That was pure class. The next boundary is more invention, as Richardson tries the wide yorker and Pant squats, reaches for it, and dinks a top edge through what could have been a slip cordon. Richardson has been Pantsed, the over going for 16.
41st over: India 276-3 (Rahul 23, Pant 5) Maxwell hopes to sneak through another quiet over, but after shopping him here and there for ones and twos, Rahul finishes things off by getting down low and sweeping at ground level to sneak the ball inside the line of the man at 45. Nine off the over with that boundary.
Lee Henderson sends in an email that he signs off as “yours bemusedly”. It follows.
“I’m currently working for a doctor who’s name is Rohit, so naturally I mentioned the fact that he shares a name with an Indian current great. I texted him a few minutes back: Rohit nears his century! ‘Oh bah. he replied. I don’t follow cricket so I don’t know the fellow at all. But I did know a hockey player named like me, the fellow slammed two pucks home in an International Test. We won and no need for 90 odd hits at the ball to do it either.’”
“Um, but Dr Rohit, those hits are actually runs and that score may well win the match for India. ‘But can he win it with two hits?’ he texted back. I’m paid up as of last Friday, and I’m unnerved by this complete lack of love and understanding of the great game by a bloke name Rohit. Is he having a lend of me do you think or do I not turn up tomorrow under protest?”
40th over: India 267-3 (Rahul 18, Pant 1) Almost as important as the wicket is that the over only cost two runs. Relief for Australia. Relief for Rishabh Pant, too, who will manage to get a hit in his understudy inclusion in place of Dhoni. He’s got 10 overs to show what he can do.
WICKET! Kohli c Carey b Richardson 7 (6 balls), India 266-3
Kohli’s one-day average will indeed rejoin the mortals under 60, as he reaches for a wide ball from Richardson and gets a feather through to Carey. The catch is taken low down and the third umpire is called in to confirm it’s clean, but it is, despite the vocal disagreement of the 28,000-strong crowd in the stands. That would have been called a wide if Kohli hadn’t tried to catch up with it.
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39th over: India 265-2 (Rahul 17, Kohli 7) There’s that Kohli running again, this time as non-striker. Rahul nudges the ball through square leg and the pair belt the first run to give time for the second. Behrendorff does well, bowling left-arm around to the two right-handers and conceding only singles, with Carey now standing back in a regulation keeping spot. But the final ball is short, just, and Kohli steps across to try to scoop it. It’s wider than he thinks, and he flinches away at the last second, but gets enough bat on it to deflect it fine for four.
This is indeed one way to look at it.
The Australians must have talked about how they could stop Kohli scoring another century @GeoffLemonSport - to be fair, they've pretty much succeeded.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) March 10, 2019
38th over: India 256-2 (Rahul 13, Kohli 2) Here comes Kohli, who goes some way to fulfilling our earlier prediction by middling Cummins for two runs to backward square leg from his second ball. Looks in good touch already and is running hard already. Trademark.
WICKET! Dhawan b Cummins 143 (115 balls), India 254-2
Oh, stop it. This is just rude now. Dhawan waltzes at Cummins, angles his front leg out of the way, and belts him over mid-off for four. We send an urgent message out to Dhawan with the water bottle.
And thankfully he listens. Charges again, swings again, and the ball takes the top of his middle stump. It’s been a hell of a show, and it has also, surely, settled any debate over who will open for India in England come May.
37th over: India 248-1 (Dhawan 139, Rahul 12) A tale of two halves. Three balls where Rahul prods and pokes and eventually cribs a single. Three balls where Dhawan first whips his wrists across a half volley to the midwicket boundary, then belts a straight six from a length ball, then along the ground to midwicket against to scoot under Richardson’s dive for four more. Behrendorff goes for 15.
Surendranath Halder emails in. “I had settled into my sofa set on this cosy Indian afternoon thinking Kohli was going to reach his third consecutive century. In successive home series it would have been too! Now with him coming out next to accelerate the innings in the death overs, he won’t get a century or an average any longer above 60 if he gets out attacking. The balance of the universe will be damaged no doubt, but my mind is left to wander away. Now, recollect this: massive opening partnership on a flat track against a tired and under-par bowling attack. The next batsman comes in after the 30th over. He starts a stunning assault after a few sedate balls at the crease and overshadows the opener. Remember AB’s innings where he hit the fastest ton? Now, depending on KL’s longevity at the crease, either he (owner of IPL’s fastest fifty) or Kohli could do a de Villiers and take India past 400 in stunning fashion. Wishful thinking, I know, but can one of these talented batsmen fulfil it?”
36th over: India 233-1 (Dhawan 125, Rahul 11) Well, Shikhar Dhawan is not done yet! Cummins returns with a short-pitched attack, and it backfires spectacularly. Twice Dhawan cracks a pull shot for four, even when the ball isn’t all that short. He adds a brace in the same fashion. Could he hang in there long enough to go really big?
35th over: India 222-1 (Dhawan 115, Rahul 10) It’s hit out or get out time for Dhawan. He’s flagging but he’s good enough to hit out successfully. He charges Maxwell, gets nowhere near the pitch, swings through the line anyway, and makes good enough contact to hang the ball over the extra cover fence. Could easily have miscued or been stumped but makes it. Then he hangs back to the next ball and cuts it late for four! Class to follow clump. He goes past 10,000 List A runs, with just over half of those coming in international cricket for India.
The team score reaches a Richie Benaud. Fifteen overs to go. Could be some destruction to come.
34th over: India 209-1 (Dhawan 104, Rahul 8) Zampa equally gets through a tidy one. Dhawan is in some trouble after Behrendorff makes a fine diving save behind square inside the circle: Dhawan was halfway down by the time he realised the ball hadn’t made it past the fielder and his batting partner hadn’t moved. Probably could have been a run if Rahul had gone as soon as the ball was struck, but he was playing it safe.
33rd over: India 206-1 (Dhawan 103, Rahul 6) Dhawan is tired, Rahul is new, and Maxwell takes advantage of the situation to zip through an over for five runs.
CENTURY! Shikhar Dhawan 102 from 97 balls
32nd over: India 201-1 (Dhawan 102, Rahul 2) Right then. The partnership of 193 is exactly what Australia’s openers finished on last match. Spoooooky. It also ends at equal eighth on India’s all-time opening partnership list, and is the second-best between Dhawan and Rohit behind their 210 against Pakistan in Dubai late last year.
But Rohit goes, and Dhawan wins the race to a century by sweeping Zampa to the fine leg fence for four. KL Rahul has come out ahead of Kohli to guarantee the newly included batsman some playing time.
Before anyone sends any follow-up emails to Abhijato, let’s have a reminder that jinx / commentator’s curse comments are officially the most boring jokes in all forms of sport.
WICKET! Rohit c Handscomb b Richardson 95 (92 balls)
31st over: India 193-1 (Dhawan 96) Richardson to Dhawan, who skews a flick away through midwicket for three. Well, it should have been three, but they must be tired. Rohit ran those like he was on his way to a vending machine, and stopped cold at the second to put his hand up and refuse another. Oliver Twist style. “More? More?”
Richardson bowls short and a bit wild down leg, but Dhawan throws everything at it and gloves it fine for four, beating Zampa running around. Turns the strike over to Rohit, who gets on top of a pull shot and spanks that behind square for four more.
But he goes to the well once too often in this over, Rohit taking on the final ball of the over with another pull, but this time it’s elevated and squarer, and Peter Handscomb is waiting in the deep for the catch! Rohit misses out on a century, and Australia heave a sigh of relief at having broken the partnership before any real carnage began.
193 after 31 overs is of course its own brand of carnage.
30th over: India 182-0 (Rohit 91, Dhawan 89) The doubles are coming along with the singles now: Dhawan cuts a couple from Finch, then Rohit sweeps a couple. The Finch experiment has turned out to be more a canary in a coalmine, as Rohit sweeps another boundary to fine leg and the over goes for 11. Rohit has indeed passed Dhawan.
This is now the second-highest partnership between Rohit and Dhawan, passing their glut of 170s together.
Abhijato Sensarma emails in. “Quinton de Kock is racing away to a ton v SL halfway through the innings with plenty of time left. Rohit is following his exact pattern of scoring double tons v Australia. Could we see two ODI 200s today?”
Call them early, call often, that’s what I say.
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29th over: India 171-0 (Rohit 82, Dhawan 87) Jhye Richardson comes back, and I fancy that Rohit might just welcome a bit of pace. To make it easier to ping the ball away. That seems to be the case: first he cuts two runs, with a good save from Marsh in the deep stopping the boundary. Then Rohit strides forward to drive four through cover, followed by a shot where he hangs back to lift the ball towards a similar spot for two more. Throw in a couple of singles and it’s another 10-run over. Rohit has almost caught Dhawan.
This is already.... 19th on India’s list of opening partnerships in one-dayers. Australia’s turn last match in Ranchi, India’s turn today in Mohali.
28th over: India 161-0 (Rohit 73, Dhawan 86) Finch lets himself continue, and immediately errs down leg side to let Rohit sweep a boundary fine. A couple of singles follow, just one to Dhawan. He’s dried up completely, having taken six overs to move from 80 to 86. I wonder if he’s tiring in the heat out there.
27th over: India 154-0 (Rohit 67, Dhawan 85) Another good over from Dorff. He has the field set for his bad ball, with deep point keeping Dhawan’s cut to a single. Then there’s only one other run from the over as the batsmen keep finding the field. The boundary flow has cut off for the last three overs, at least, but India are still well in control.
They’ve had some big partnerships, this pair: 174, 176, 178 and 210 all sit ahead of this one. But it’s now their equal fifth overall.
26th over: India 152-0 (Rohit 66, Dhawan 84) Time for a cheeky over from Aaron Finch. The captain brings himself on to send down a set of his left-arm doorknobs. Probably just wanting to change things up for the batsmen, see if he can put a ripple in their rhythm. It works in the first instance, with only four singles as Finch bowls around the wicket to angle the ball in. Another minor partnership milestone passes by.
25th over: India 148-0 (Rohit 64, Dhawan 82) Behrendorff continues, with Carey still up to the stumps, and suddenly Dhawan can’t lay bat on ball. Well, he can, but only squeezing out a few mistimed prods to the field. An inside edge saves him from a leg-before shout, and only from the fifth ball of the over can he pull a shorter ball and get off strike.
24th over: India 146-0 (Rohit 63, Dhawan 81) Here goes Rohit: the foam beginning to froth on the surface as the Kraken stirs in the depths. Onto the back foot against Zampa, and no more respectful defensive shots. Instead the ball is blasted flat over midwicket for six. An subsequent LBW appeal against the lefty Dhawan is turned down for pitching outside leg.
23rd over: India 136-0 (Rohit 54, Dhawan 80) Ummm, ok. Jason Behrendorff has come back on and Alex Carey is standing up to the stumps? Normally Dorff bowls somewhere in the high 130s range, kilometrically speaking. Is Carey trying to make the batsmen second-guess themselves where swing is concerned? Stop them getting forward to the ball as confidently? It doesn’t appear to achieve anything this over, as Rohit flicks a straight ball for two and they collect a few singles besides.
The drums are beating now...
Fifteen months ago, India scored 4-392 against Sri Lanka here in Mohali. Rohit made 208no and Kohli didn't even play. Another monster total on the cards #INDvAUS
— Samuel Ferris (@samuelfez) March 10, 2019
Half century! Rohit Sharma 50 from 61 balls
22nd over: India 130-0 (Rohit 50, Dhawan 78) A single raises fifty for Rohit Sharma: he now has 40 of these in one-day cricket, plus his 22 hundreds. He’s been happy to play the supporting hand today but is well set to explode later. Zampa’s over is a perfect picket fence of six singles.
21st over: India 124-0 (Rohit 47, Dhawan 75) Maxwell is having some issues here. He’s overthinking his bowling again, not doing what comes naturally. He tries to fizz through a faster ball to surprise Dhawan but once again the batsman has almost pre-empted rocking back, and so he’s able to get under a pull shot and lift it for six. Flat over midwicket. And it rattles Maxwell enough that he pulls out of his next delivery, unsure what to do. He goes to the top of his mark and squeezes his eyes closed, trying to force himself to focus. “The most important thing is to breathe, remember to breathe,” says the former India spinner Murali Karthik on the telly. Maxwell gets through the over with a dot and four singles.
20th over: India 114-0 (Rohit 45, Dhawan 67) Double spin now with Zampa bowling, and the batsmen still either aren’t entirely able to pick him or aren’t willing to attack him. Perhaps happy to go after other bowlers. Even when he finishes the over with a full toss, Rohit has already committed to a charge and can only squeeze it back to the bowler.
19th over: India 111-0 (Rohit 44, Dhawan 65) Maxwell comes back to bowl to Rohit, but he bowls that wide ball again and Rohit can once more slap it away. This time Richardson in the deep puts in a fantastic dive to prevent the boundary and keep the batsmen to three. Maxwell to Dhawan is an interesting tussle, with the bowler willing to take some pace off the ball and offer flight, then to skid it through. But late in the over he pitches just a touch too short, and Dhawan is lightning on his feet, a la Taylor Swift, to get back and nail his pull shot to the fence. Maxwell has conceded 19 from three overs, which isn’t bad but isn’t up with his last couple of parsimonious games.
18th over: India 103-0 (Rohit 41, Dhawan 60) Cummins with another tidy over: a couple of extras and a couple of singles, but it’s good enough to raise India’s hundred. Out of all the talk about who should open for India at the World Cup, it’s timely that this pair has just levelled the great Greenidge and Haynes for century partnerships in one-day cricket. Both those pairs are on 15, and the only combinations ahead of them are Hayden and Gilchrist, then Tendulkar and Ganguly.
Drinks. Also: quite.
Worry here is Australia won’t take a wicket quickly enough for Kohli to score a hundred.
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) March 10, 2019
17th over: India 99-0 (Rohit 39, Dhawan 60) Teasing loop from Zampa forces a defensive shot from Rohit. Then some drift towards middle stump allows a bunt down the ground for one. Dhawan keeps reaching across to whip Zampa to leg. Then the shorter quicker ball surprises Rohit into hitting straight, where he might have gone across the line if he’d had time to get back. Four singles again, Zampa has gone for 11 from his three overs.
16th over: India 95-0 (Rohit 37, Dhawan 58) Cummins returns early, looking for a breakthrough. He’s mainly bowling at the stumps so they work a few singles easily enough. But once Rohit misses a cut shot he goes back into his shell and defends a couple of fuller balls. Tidy over.
15th over: India 92-0 (Rohit 36, Dhawan 56) Another pull shot nailed by Dhawan, this time off the spinner, but again the sweeper prevents a boundary. Zampa continues his variations, some flight and some flat, and goes for four singles in all.
Half century! Shikhar Dhawan 51 from 44 balls
14th over: India 88-0 (Rohit 34, Dhawan 54) Richardson continues, bowls too full, and sees a perfect straight drive race back past him for four! Dhawan got that one crisply and raises his half-century with the stroke. Like Finch for Australia, he’s been under pressure and has now responded with a much-needed fifty. He pulls a short ball hard but finds the sweeper for a single. Gets the strike back, then bunts a slower ball out to deep midwicket for two. Richardson growls in frustration, audibly through the stump mic.
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13th over: India 80-0 (Rohit 33, Dhawan 47) Adam Zampa on now, the leg-spinner. He’s been good against Virat Kohli this series. Seven wickets in three matches so far. He varies his pace and flight this over, and even the aggressive Dhawan only attempts a couple of singles against him.
This is an interesting take. Dhoni does have a grandstand named after him at Ranchi, and he is likely to retire from ODIs after the World Cup.
Interesting to note that Kohli at toss said 'Dhoni opted to rest'. All the while we thought team management wanted to rest him to test Pant. So Dhoni wanted his final ODI in India to be in Ranchi? #IndvAus
— Ashwin R (@ashwin_connect) March 10, 2019
12th over: India 77-0 (Rohit 32, Dhawan 45) Richardson is on track for a tidy over having allowed only four singles, but his final ball is down leg side and Rohit easily slides it away to the boundary. This partnership, prolific in career terms, continues to grow.
When the score was 62 runs, the Dhawan and Sharma opening pair completed 1000 ODI runs vs AUS, most for them vs any team and Only the second opening pair to reach this landmark after Greenidge and Haynes to score 1000 ODI runs vs AUS#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/pJVJnsiHaa
— Hrishikesh Tambe (@20copperboy) March 10, 2019
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11th over: India 69-0 (Rohit 26, Dhawan 43) Maxwell to Rohit, and Maxwell is just trying too hard I fancy. Saw the big shot in the previous over and started over-thinking how to restrain the batsman. So he bowls too wide angling across, and that lets the batsman play the easiest of slaps through cover point for four. Then a brace through cover, a couple of singles, and finally a misfield at backward point that turns a probable dot ball into three runs. India move nicely along to 69.
10th over: India 58-0 (Rohit 16, Dhawan 42) And now we see what Rohit can do! Right after respectfully patting away six off-breaks, he gets a slot ball from a fast bowler and strikes Behrendorff way downtown for six! Just a good clean swing through the ball and a proper connect. Add a few singles and it makes ten off the over. Rohit doubles his score.
Also, let’s all keep an eye on this please?
The most important question today is: can Australia bowl India out in 48.2 overs please? #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/LKxjsnRJKa
— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) March 10, 2019
9th over: India 48-0 (Rohit 8, Dhawan 40) Maxwell is on in the Powerplay again. He had to do this role in the second ODI of this series and did it beautifully, barely conceding a run and knocking over Dhawan. And he starts outstandingly here as well, bowling around the wicket to Rohit, giving him nothing in line or length to hit, and returning a maiden over. For an off-spinner who’s more batsman than bowler, that’s some feat.
8th over: India 48-0 (Rohit 8, Dhawan 40) It definitely looks like Dhawan’s day. He’s varying between brilliance and risk, but his audacity hasn’t cost him. First he plays that back-foot punch to Behrendorff once more, timing it perfectly to the right of Marsh at cover on this occasion. Then he whips the last ball of the over off his pads but just to the left of Handscomb at midwicket. Another near-catch that evades the field and returns a boundary. The score is 48, of which one batsman has 40 and the other 8.
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7th over: India 38-0 (Rohit 7, Dhawan 31) Jumping Jhye Richardson is on for his first bowl. Shorter than the usual in stature, skiddy, very fast on his day. He debuted in Tests earlier this year and has played all formats for Australia in the last few weeks. A sudden rise. He bowls some width, and Dhawan plants his feet and flays it away in the air through backward point. Got lucky with his placement there. Rohit’s boundary in reply is much more conventional: the classic cover drive.
It was at Mohali that @SDhawan25 made his Test debut with a blistering century. The opposition then, as now, was Australia. Needs to play a smash-hit knock today to quell skepticism about his place in World Cup squad
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 10, 2019
6th over: India 29-0 (Rohit 3, Dhawan 26) Behrendorff, meanwhile, almost inevitably gets onto Rohit’s pads from a left-arm over-the-wicket line, and Rohit can easily knock away a single. But Dhawan finally finds his range against the lefty: just back of a length outside off, but he stays on the back foot and punches crisply through cover for four! That’s a wonderful shot, very difficult to time. He tries a similar stroke from the final ball but Marsh in the covers dives to get his left hand to the ball and keep it to a single.
5th over: India 23-0 (Rohit 2, Dhawan 21) Against Cummins though, Dhawan is much more comfortable! After forcing a couple of runs straight off the back foot, he strides into an off-drive that zings down the ground for four, then comes across the line to clout an on-drive away for the same. The latter was less controlled, ballooning in the air, but well into the gap in the field.
4th over: India 13-0 (Rohit 2, Dhawan 11) This is the match-up the Australians want: Behrendorff to Dhawan and Cummins to Rohit. Behrendorff is swinging the ball and Dhawan can’t find it: once... twice... finds the field. Finally escapes strike with an inside edge, nowhere near timing a ball today.
3rd over: India 12-0 (Rohit 2, Dhawan 10) Another bonus from Cummins, full and on the stumps allowing Dhawan to drive it away through mid-on. The ball is speeding across the surface here at Mohali. Dhawan taps another single, and Cummins immediately bowls better to the right-hander, cutting a ball in to beat Rohit’s shot and take his pad. Too high for a dismissal. Rohit is happy to defend the rest of the over.
2nd over: India 6-0 (Rohit 1, Dhawan 5) Behrendorff the left-arm swing merchant begins. He’s got Dhawan out a couple of times already in his short ODI career. And Dhawan has an issue with getting out early to attacking shots. So the batsman restrains himself as the bowler sends down a few just inside the return crease. I don’t think that was entirely deliberate from the bowler. The ball is swinging but the line is wide. Finally he gets one right and it zips between bat and pad, clipping the back pad on its way through to Carey behind the stumps. Good ball. Maiden over.
1st over: India 6-0 (Rohit 1, Dhawan 5) And we’re away. Good batting pitch, Pat Cummins in fine form in this series, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan both struggling a bit for runs lately. Rohit covers up on off stump with his bat coming anti-clockwise towards the ball and keeps out the first a bit shakily. He drives a straight single next ball, then Cummins gives Dhawan a gift on leg stump for the left-hander to clip through square for four. One of his favourite shots. He follows up by opening the face to ease a run into the covers. Rohit does that circular defensivive shot again, and wasn’t far off lobbing a leading edge back to the bowler. Just got bat to ball soon enough, despite that clunking sound that indicates a mistimed shot. And again to close the over. Rohit can often be a patchy starter before utterly taking a team to pieces. Three double-centuries in this format.
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Teams
The biggest news is that MS Dhoni has been omitted so that India’s selectors can have a look at Rishabh Pant. This is interesting because it has widely been expected that Pant would have to force his way into the side as a specialist bat, but he’s being given the full job for this match and presumably the fifth to come. Dhoni will surely be the first-choice man for the big tournament, but his understudy will get a chance for a canter.
Mohammad Shami bowled well in the series so far but had a nasty blow to the shin in his follow-through last match, which might have aided the call to give Bhuvneshwar Kumar a run as one of two specialist pacemen instead. Ravindra Jadeja swaps with Yuzvendra Chahal for one spinner’s spot, though that weakens the batting. And KL Rahul gets a chance to stake his claim for a batting spot at No4 where Ambati Rayudu has struggled this series.
The Australians are also making some swaps for game time: Ashton Turner played the first match in Shaun Marsh’s absence, and now returns to the side instead of Marcus Stoinis. Jhye Richardson keeps his pace bowling spot, and the left-armer Jason Behrendorff comes in for Nathan Lyon, who has bowled very well so far. So just the one specialist spinner for Australia today, a decision perhaps made easier by the fact that Maxwell has been bowling his part-time offies very well.
India
Shikhar Dhawan
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli *
KL Rahul
Rishabh Pant +
Kedar Jadhav
Vijay Shankar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Kuldeep Yadav
Yuzvendra Chahal
Jasprit Bumrah
Australia
Aaron Finch *
Usman Khawaja
Shaun Marsh
Peter Handscomb
Glenn Maxwell
Ashton Turner
Alex Carey +
Jhye Richardson
Patrick Cummins
Jason Behrendorff
Adam Zampa
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India win the toss and will bat
Interesting. Lots of experimenting going on here. India normally prefer to chase but were glad to bat first in Nagpur and have opted to do the same here in Mohali. Kohli says there may be some dew later on which can hamper the bowling side, but I suspect it’s more about giving his side a shot at setting a total. Plenty of changes to the XI as well, which I’ll list in a moment.
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Preamble
And then there were four. Four games reached in this five-match series. India won the first two in a canter, then Australia surged back in the third match to avoid a series defeat. Now they’ll have to do that all over again.
That win was built on an opening stand of 193 between Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja, with the former making 93 and the latter 104. Good times for Australia given both those two have been struggling a bit. Australia’s ODI history has only seen five double-century stands, and this pair nearly added a sixth. For those who think this means that David Warner’s World Cup comeback should be denied, it’s worth noting that Warner has been involved in two of the five 200-plus partnerships on that list.
Virat Kohli made a fast 123 in the chase, his 41st ODI century, but couldn’t do it alone as his top order fell around him. But he has two tons in three games this series, so you wouldn’t tip against him doing it again tonight.
We’re in Mohali for this fourth match, scene of India’s epic World T20 win over Australia in 2016 when Kohli scripted the perfect chase there with 88 not out. It should be another pearler tonight. Let’s do it.
