Match report
To Banglalore! Thanks for your company today. We’ll be back with you for the third, final and deciding ODI on Sunday at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Bye for now!
KL Rahul is player of the match. Well, the mystery is solved. He’s now talking to Harsha Bhogle. Couldn’t have asked for a better start and he’s enjoying the various roles. Coming in at No5 he had to just give himself a couple of balls before going at it. Pleased he played his role with the gloves too - Kuldeep is very happy with him. Hasn’t done it a lot at the top level but has been a bit at domestic level recently.
Kohli and Dhawan get trophies. Kuldeep gets a trophy. Everyone gets a trophy. I’m still not entirely sure who the player of the match is.
Kohli speaks! Social media means panic button is hit too early, especially with where he was batting in the first ODI. Thrilled with KL Rahul, who moved to five and batted with maturity and class. They don’t focus on the panic inside the dressing room. Important few games for Dhawan to get on a run after a period where he was short of runs. When he plays well, India play well. On Rohit’s left shoulder, there’s no tear so he should be good for Sunday’s match. Very pleased with how the quicks closed out the game with their yorker barrage.
Aaron Finch is up. He’s given trophy for not winning today - I wonder where that will go? Right, he’s talking. They were one wicket short at crucial times when India were batting and then chasing. Zampa a big positive in the series so far. Smith’s batting a big plus too, also Marnus. They love batting together. Only time they aren’t together is when they are asleep. “Just as well,” adds Harsha. Very good.
Kuldeep Yadav speaks. I think he’s man of the match? He should be. It’s hard to tell at these presentation ceremonies. He’s happy with how he bowled. We’ll hear from the captains shortly, who I expect will have a bit more to say.
Good fun, that. Yes, Australia end up falling a fair bit short of the total but they gave it a decent crack without ever taking the ascendancy in the chase. The critical over was the 38th when Kuldeep picked up Carey and Smith within four balls. The latter was two short of a ton and looked for a time, especially when he was with Labuachagne earlier, like it could be on... but not to be. To the presentation.
INDIA WIN BY 36 RUNS! WICKET! Zampa c Rahul b Bumrah 6. (Australia all-out 304)
Bumrah gets his wicket, Zampa edging him through to Rahul. And that’s the win!
49th over: Australia 304-9 (Richardson 24, Zampa 6) Target 341. RICHO MAN! He’s swinging to the last, lifting Shami through midwicket for a second boundary. And a third too - what a shot! It was a low full toss, which he got underneath, and middled over mid-on. Will he keep going? WHY NOT?! SIX over extra cover! Brathwaite-esque, that. Final ball... and four more over mid-off, inside-out! Well, there we go, Richardson has nailed 19 off the over, the best of the chase. In case you were wondering, that leaves them 37 to win off the final over. I know, I know.
48th over: Australia 285-9 (Richardson 6, Zampa 5) Target 341. Bumrah to bowl his ninth, so far going for just 26. He was outstanding at the start, refusing to let Australia’s openers get off to another flyer, banking two early maidens. He deserves a wicket from one of these pristine yorkers but it isn’t to be. Richardson makes room and swings at the one he doesn’t quite land, slapping a straight four. In response, Bumrah sends a sharp bouncer down, which hits him somewhere other than the bat - maybe the arm guard? He’s straight up and smiling, though.
47th over: Australia 279-9 (Richardson 1, Zampa 4) Target 341. The third over tonight where two wickets have fallen. Zampa ends it on a high note for the tourists, slapping an uppercut over point for four, but it counts for nothing now.
WICKET! Starc c Rahul b Saini 6 (Australia 275-9)
Starc swings at a short one but only manages to edge it through to Rahul, who has had a very good night with the gloves after an excellent turn with the bat.
WICKET! Agar lbw b Saini 25 (Australia 274-8)
Saini earned that, beating Agar with another great yorker - they’ve landed them magnificently at the death. DRS is called upon but the decision is upheld.
Updated
46th over: Australia 274-7 (Agar 25, Starc 6) Target 341. Shami’s penultimate over to Starc and Agar, attacking the stumps throughout. They’re able to get bat on ball to each well-directed delivery, but only to the sweepers for singles. The required rate for Australia is now up to 17 an over; it’d take something miraculous.
45th over: Australia 268-7 (Agar 22, Starc 3) Target 341. Credit to Saini, kept his cool in his previous over and got out of it with three excellent yorkers to build the pressure before Shami cashed in with two wickets in two balls. He played his role.
44th over: Australia 263-7 (Agar 20, Starc 0) Target 341. Apologies, the technology problem from earlier has returned. I’ll do my best to keep the updates coming. Shami had another lbw shout before he over was done.
THE HAT-TRICK BALL WAS VERY CLOSE! Given not out only just missing Starc’s leg stump, the projection shows. India didn’t have a review in any case.
Updated
WICKET! Cummins b Shami 0 (Australia 259-7)
Ctrl+c, Ctrl+v! A carbon copy. Shami is on a hat-trick!
WICKET! Turner b Shami 13 (Australia 259-6)
Turner missed, Shami hit. A yorker on middle and off, the Australian backed away to make space but couldn’t get his bat down in time. Perfect death bowling.
43rd over: Australia 259-5 (Turner 13, Agar 20) Target 341. Shot, Ashton. Mindful that Saini has three overs left and that the have to take him down, the left-hander hammers a pull shot for four. He makes it back to back boundaries with an equally emphatic cut shot. Rohit has hurt his shoulder trying to cut off the second of those shots, straight away grabbing his left arm and hitting the deck. We’ll keep an eye on that - he’s off the field receiving treatment. Agar goes in that direction again after the re-start, using the pace behind point for a couple more. So, that’s ten from three balls to start. How will Saini bounce back? Nicely, with a very good yorker; one down the ground the rest. Turner has a couple to look at but he cops an excellent yorker too. Another to finish, the best of the lot - a dot. Great fightback. They need 82 off 42 from here, which is just a tick under 12 an over.
42nd over: Australia 247-5 (Turner 12, Agar 9) Target 341. Kuldeep is back now for his tenth and final over, using his wrong’un - the ball that did Smith in - to Turner whenever he’s bowling at the right hander. They’re able to get him away to the sweepers, the pressure building, so Turner takes a swipe at the final delivery... it hangs in the sky for a long, long time... but there’s nobody there to claim the catch at square leg. They come back for a couple. He deserved a third - well bowled.
41st over: Australia 241-5 (Turner 8, Agar 7) Target 341. Bumrah: he’s so good, rinse and repeat. Agar steered him with skill to begin, down to the rope - that put the pressure back onto the Indian No1. But you wouldn’t know it the way he landed the rest, his yorker a thing of beauty. The required rate is now 11.
40th over: Australia 235-5 (Turner 7, Agar 2) Target 341. Right, after the appeal there was a ropey wide to Agar - a misdirected slower ball, by the looks. But Shami was back on his yorker length shortly thereafter, a quick single considered by Turner; they’re lucky the bowler didn’t successfully throw down the stumps. On paper Australia are still in this but one of these two need to start middling it.
NOT OUT! Didn’t look a bad shout live but it swung plenty after hitting in line, missing leg stump entirely. No umpire’s call, so India lose their review.
IS TURNER LBW TO SHAMI? Kohli is sending it to the TV ump. Looked a decent shout live. Stand by.
39th over: Australia 228-5 (Turner 3, Agar 1) Target 341. Well, the obvious thing to say is that Turner has been here before. Give or take, this was the situation he walked into at Mohali in March last year when Australia chased 360 from nowhere. Bumrah is brought back by Kohli after the two wickets from Kuldeep, frustrated by four leg byes off Turner’s front pad when missing his line. 10.3 an over needed.
38th over: Australia 221-5 (Turner 1, Agar 0) Target 341. Watching that replay back, it was the lack of pace on the ball to Smith that sorted him out. Superb variation. Kuldeep has reached 100 ODI wickets two matches quicker than Warne. Handy!
WICKET! Smith b Kuldeep 98 (Australia 221-5)
Make that 101 for Kuldeep! Smith chops on two short of a ton. He made room for himself outside the leg stump to cut but an inside edge ends his evening.
WICKET! Carey c Kohli b Kuldeep 18 (Australia 220-4)
A checked drive, staight to the captain at cover! Kuldeep now has 100 ODI scalps.
37th over: Australia 219-3 (Smith 97, Carey 18) Target 341. Saini has four more to get through, so he’ll be bowling in that final ten. I’m not sure this was the plan but he’s bowled pretty well so far and at decent pace. He gives Smith some width though, carved away with relative ease to the boundary. They need 9.4 an over.
Updated
36th over: Australia 212-3 (Smith 91, Carey 17) Target 341. Well bowled, Kuldeep. He’s turning past Smith’s inside edge, up for lbw. He’s getting some spin on this road. Three singles are their lot. Meanwhile on TV, I don’t understand the context but Hayden and Slater are talking about having a fist fight or something?
35th over: Australia 209-3 (Smith 89, Carey 16) Target 341. Jadeja’s last over and SMITH LANDS A BLOW before he’s done, dancing and launching him waaaay over the rope at midwicket for SIX MORE. We know from his efforts in Canberra earlier this summer in a T20 against Pakistan that he has the ability to put the foot down just as effectively as he does occupy the crease in Test cricket. Put it this way: if he can bat for another ten overs, they should be most of the way to the finish line.
34th over: Australia 199-3 (Smith 81, Carey 14) Target 341. By pull the trigger, that doesn’t mean swinging at everything quite yet - as they note on telly, ten or 12 an over in the final ten isn’t that problematic in modern ODI cricket. In any case, Carey is the man making a play in this over, slog-sweeping Kuldeep for SIX - the first of the chase! He didn’t get all of it, but we know Carey doesn’t need to - a very powerful player. He goes again in the same direction next up, albeit along the carpet, beating the sweeper to the rope for four more. 13 off it... they needed that.
33rd over: Australia 186-3 (Smith 78, Carey 4) Target 341. Jadeja is doing a wonderful job as Kohli’s Mr Fix It, giving Carey nothing unfurl the arms at in a manner that could threaten the boundary. Smith needs to pull the trigger shortly.
32nd over: Australia 182-3 (Smith 77, Carey 2) Target 341. Carey can’t get Kuldeep away reversing, off the mark with the conventional sweep instead. A period of brief consolidation after losing Labuschagne, drinks taken with 159 needed in 18.
To close the loop on that odd leg before referral, I’m reminded that hotspot is never used in India. Time we standardised all that too, isn’t it?
Updated
31st over: Australia 178-3 (Smith 75, Carey 0) Target 341. So, it’s the former captain and the next captain with the better part of nine an over to get. Strap in.
WICKET! Labuschagne c Shami b Jadeja 46 (Australia 178-3)
Kohli rewarded! He’s used Jadeja across four spells to tie Australia up at various intervals and it’s worked here in prompting a rare false stroke from Labuschagne, miscuing out to deep extra cover where he’s taken safely by Shami.
30th over: Australia 171-2 (Smith 69, Labuschagne 45) Target 341. Bumrah on for his sixth over - surely the last we’ll see of him before the death. Australia must be mindful of this too, happily playing India’s main man out for three singles.
Ahhh, there is no use of hotspot in this series, Michael Slater confirms. So much for the heavyweight title fight or whatever that nonsense that was from earlier.
29th over: Australia 168-2 (Smith 67, Labuschagne 44) Target 341. I don’t want to skewer Michael Gough here - this isn’t his fault. But, for mine, that’s another assessment that builds the case for specialist TV umps.
NOT OUT! Kohli retains his review for an umpire’s call on leg stump. The ump upstairs, Michael Gough, insisted there was daylight between bat and pad. It didn’t look that clear cut to me? Far from it. Anyway, it doesn’t matter - he’s still there.
BIG MOMENT! Has Jadeja trapped Smith lbw? Kohli is sending it upstairs!
28th over: Australia 163-2 (Smith 64, Labuschagne 42) Target 341. Ooooh, shooooooot! Labuschagne gets his first look at Bumrah and strokes him down the ground: a magnificent on-drive for four on the up. The summer of Marnus continues. This is turning into a very dangerous union, now worth 81.
“Regarding your dismay (over #24) on the TV guys still talking about the stumping,” notes Krishnamoorthy, “you do not know Indians. We still talk about Kapil Dev’s 175 during every World Cup.” Perhaps, but this is hardly that!
27th over: Australia 156-2 (Smith 62, Labuschagne 37) Target 341. They needed that from Marnus. With one ball to go in Jadeja’s set, just a single from it to that point, the new man to this Australian middle order plays a supreme inside-out cover drive to the boundary. For the first time, the required rate is above eight.
26th over: Australia 151-2 (Smith 61, Labuschagne 33) Target 341. Saini is attacking the stumps and doing it really well. In excess of 140 clicks throughout, they are forced to play mostly inside the V, adding only one single. Those are the overs that do a lot of damage to a batting team when embarking upon a big chase.
What gibberish the clash of the titans branding around this series. I mean, yes, these teams are good. But I heard Hayden call it a ‘heavyweight title fight’ earlier. It’s a three-game jolly six months after the World Cup. Let’s just be fine with that.
25th over: Australia 150-2 (Smith 60, Labuschagne 33) Target 341. Such good batting from Smith, picking up Jadeja’s straight one and helping it fine of the man on the 45 for his seventh boundary. At the halfway point of the chase, Australia need 191 further runs at 7.64 an over. Winviz has that at 91 per cent for India but I don’t share that view. Sure, still India’s game but the visitors aren’t badly placed.
Mark Wood is going wild at Port Elizabeth. There’s a movie in that.
24th over: Australia 144-2 (Smith 55, Labuschagne 32) Target 341. Saini now for his fifth over, presumably the bowler Kohli won’t want delivering too many in the final ten given his relative inexperience. This isn’t a bad one though, sending down a couple of nicely angled yorkers. A poor ball follows to Smith, giving him a good look at a cut shot, but he can’t put it away. They are still talking about the stumping on television some 62 runs after Finch was dismissed. Give me strength.
23rd over: Australia 138-2 (Smith 52, Labuschagne 29) Target 341. Kuldeep keeps Labuschagne quiet for the first three balls of his fresh over so the Queenslander gets resourceful, successfully lapping a couple. He backs that up with a stand-and-deliver flat-bat swat through midwicket. As you do! Brilliantly timed. He’s well in.
“Surely that is five penalty runs there,” argues Dechlan Brennan of Rohit’s effort there when pretending throw after collecting the sweep down at long leg.
22nd over: Australia 132-2 (Smith 52, Labuschagne 23) Target 341. Shami has now bowled six overs, going for 45. Kohli might have a bit of a mathematical issue to deal with later in the innings. It’s where Kedar Yadav was useful in this team.
“Smith and Labuschagne,” emails Krishnamoorthy. “One a disgrace to the law of averages (thanks to Rob Smyth) and the other an autocorrect’s dream.”
Smith to 50!
21st over: Australia 127-2 (Smith 50, Labuschagne 21) Target 341. Kuldeep is up with a shout for leg before against Labuschagne, who misses his sweep. It’s less ‘howzat?’ and more series of insistent pants at the umpire. I’ve often wondered about this obnoxious appealing technique... surely it doesn’t help? Alas, it is given not out but would have been umpire’s call on the off-stump had he put up the finger. Make of that what you will. Smith takes one off his hip to raise a half-century in 47 deliveries, a fine effort after a challenging start. Has to go big now.
20th over: Australia 121-2 (Smith 48, Labuschagne 17) Target 341. Sorry again about these delays, it is been looked into and hopefully won’t take long to resolve. Shami has been brought back on and just as it was the previous time when Kohli turned to his opening bowler, it hasn’t gone to plan. And just as it was in the previous over of this innings, Steve Smith has finished the over with a boundary. It’s a beautiful shot too, using the pace of the ball to angle his upper cut fine of third man. There was no edge about that, he knew exactly what he was doing.
19th over: Australia 112-2 (Smith 42, Labuschagne 14) Target 341. Unbelievably, they are still talking about the Finch stumping on the TV coverage. But these two have put that behind them, Smith finishing another productive over with a lavish inside-out cover drive. He has that look in the eye, all of a sudden. Here we go.
19th over: Australia 112-2 (Smith 42, Labuschagne 14) Target 341. Unbelievably, they are still talking about the Finch stumping on the TV coverage. But these two have put that behind them, Smith finishing another productive over with a lavish inside-out cover drive. He has that look in the eye, all of a sudden. Here we go.
18th over: Australia 104-2 (Smith 38, Labuschagne 12) Target 341. Smith’s turn to take it to the Indian spinners, pinning his ears back to clobber Jadeja through cover for four. Nobody is stopping that. These two have put on 22 in 17 balls.
17th over: Australia 95-2 (Smith 30, Labuschagne 9) Target 341. Apologies for the delay, we’re experiencing some technical issues. Back to regular programming asap. Marnus played a lavish lofted drive over long-off though - what a start.
16th over: Australia 86-2 (Smith 28, Labuschagne 2) Target 341. Who woulda thought it? Smith and Labuschagne batting together. We’re going to say that a lot over the next decade. The new man, playing his first ODI innings in his second match, is off the mark straight away with a confident drive down the ground, adding another in the same direction later in the over. Confident start.
It's close... FINCH OUT‼️ How would you call it?
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) January 17, 2020
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Updated
WICKET! Finch st Rahul b Jadeja 33 (Australia 82-2)
Finch jumped down the track at Jadeja, tried to put him on the moon over midwicket but missed, the bails taken tidily by Rahul. Many replays were looked at by the third umpire to satisfy himself that the Australian captain’s boot wasn’t behind the line, which feels like the right call from what we’ve seen. An unconvincing stay ends as the players take a drink. India are on top.
IS FINCH STUMPED? We’re going to find out! Stand by!
15th over: Australia 74-1 (Finch 30, Smith 21) Target 341. Kuldeep is on, he has 99 wickets and Smith was just one. Sorry. It is true - the wristspinner is one away from 100 ODI scalps in his excellent career so far, only once dismissing Smith. That’s not far from twice with the final ball of his initial over here, the former captain trying to hammer him straight over his head, a fat edge clearing extra cover.
14th over: Australia 74-1 (Finch 30, Smith 21) Target 341. Good captaincy from Kohli to get a fouth over out of the inexperienced Saini while the Australians are battling to pile on the runs, and for the second time he does Finch for bounce, the skipper less than thrilled. There’s an ambitious yet enthusiastic appeal from Kohli at midwicket later in the over, keen to find out is his opposing number has been strangled down the legside, but it was all pad. It’s a poor finish though, giving Finch a short ball on his hip, dealt with with a pull shot to the backward square rope. It has taken a while and he’s far from fluent, but into the 30s he goes.
13th over: Australia 66-1 (Finch 23, Smith 20) Target 341. Another tight over with plenty of oohs and aahs as Jadeja pins both batsmen largely to the crease.
12th over: Australia 63-1 (Finch 22, Smith 18) Target 341. Saini stays on for now and beats Finch with a bit of extra bounce. Ooh, some real drama later in the over with Smith miles from his ground when Rohit’s underarm flick from four metres passes the stumps from midwicket. A direct hit and Smith is gone by a metre. And they know it too. Saini backs it up with a bumper, Finch swinging and missing. With the exception of Smith’s one big over, this is far from convincing batting.
Over at Port Elizabeth, England have moved beyond 400 for the first time since the Mesolithic Era as Ollie Pope creeps slowly towards a maiden Test ton.
11th over: Australia 60-1 (Finch 20, Smith 17) Target 341. Jadeja is on with his tweakers and darts, four singles exchanged down the ground as they start again against the first of what will almost certainly be 20 overs of slow bowling. Finch keeps the strike. Good batting to begin this second phase of the chase.
10th over: Australia 55-1 (Finch 17, Smith 15) Target 341. That’s better from Smith, playing one of his best strokes - the clip through midwicket - out to the rope early in the new Saini over. Building on that confidence, he busts out one of his T20 shots, flicking from outside the off-stump through the air on the legside, beating the fielder for back to back boundaries. With that, Australia move beyond 50. And he keeps going too, Smith now driving with authority after opening up his stance, beating mid-off for his third four in the set - their best so far in this chase. The required rate is 7.15 as the field spreads and the spinners are introduced.
9th over: Australia 43-1 (Finch 17, Smith 3) Target 341. After four overs going for just one scoring shot, Shami is swung around to follow the mighty Bumrah. Finch doesn’t mind that, immediately getting on the back foot to carve down hard on some width, through the gap and backward point for four. Shami is back on the pegs right away but Finch tries to play the same shot and is fortunate not to inside edge back towards his timber. The better strategy for the captain is to get inside the line, which he does to the next delivery, hammering it for four behind square on the pull. It’s taken him a while, but he’s slowly getting into his groove now. With one ball at Smith, he’s short at him again with leg-gully in place. Tasty.
8th over: Australia 33-1 (Finch 8, Smith 3) Target 341. Ooh! Navdeep Saini is on for his first twist and he nearly gets Smith to chop on! The second-gamer also wins a play and miss from Finch. He has good wheels and an accurate radar - nice start.
@collinsadam
— krish (@vkmagus) January 17, 2020
Now that Warner is gone , let us trust good old PG W
😉 pic.twitter.com/mj19mEo9X5
7th over: Australia 30-1 (Finch 6, Smith 2) Target 341. Bumrah again, sensing that the window is open for them to strike a second time in this all-important power play as the sun sets behind the grandstands. That’s not to be but he does bank back to back maidens, keeping Smith in defence throughout, with the exception of another bouncer hurrying him up. He’s wise not to take a pop at it. I’m looking forward to seeing how Smith deals with this new challenge with every team now trying to blast him out with bumpers each time he walks out to bat.
6th over: Australia 30-1 (Finch 6, Smith 2) Target 341. Big shout turned down off Shami for leg before - perhaps caught behind. Either way, he’s through Smith for pace with an off-cutter. They were productive earlier in the over, Finch successfully lofting a checked drive over cover for three. Before it’s done, the Indian quick goes short, hitting Smith on the stomach when missing his pull shot.
5th over: Australia 23-1 (Finch 1, Smith 1) Target 341. Another outstanding over from Bumrah to Finch, the man he had so much success against in 2018 and early 2019. He’s all over the Australian captain, finding his inside edge when bringing it back, keeping him quiet when shaping away. He’s faced 15 balls for his single run.
Meanwhile, a huge result in the opening game of the Under 19s World Cup, Afghanistan thrashing South Africa, the hosts. How about those bowling figures!
Astonishing opening game in the under-19 50-over World Cup in South Africa:
— Glenn Mitchell (@MitchellGlenn) January 17, 2020
South Africa all out 129 (29.1 overs)
Afghanistan 3-130 (25 overs)
Afghan leg-spinner Shafiqullah Ghafari 9.1-2-15-6
😳 🏏
4th over: Australia 23-1 (Finch 1, Smith 1) Target 341. Shami misses his line to begin at Smith, a bouncer down the legside. He’s short again later in the over, right on the money. Is that an early sign that the bouncer barrage that has followed Smith recently in Test cricket is going to follow him to the white-ball caper? He’s off the mark with a single to long leg from the penultimate delivery of this successful over, Finch then doing likewise from the final ball, out to midwicket.
WHAT A CATCH 😲 Manish Pandey just activated flight mode 👏 Warner gone for 15.
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) January 17, 2020
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WICKET! Warner c Pandey b Shami 15 (Australia 20-1)
Super catch! Warner tried to slash Shami through the off-side but Pandey, on the edge of the circle at cover, stuck one hand up and it stuck. Brilliant fielding!
3rd over: Australia 16-0 (Warner 11, Finch 0) Target 341. An early and rare gift from Bumrah, spraying a full ball down the legside beyond the diving glove of Rahul, five wides the result. Of course, the superstar is back on his shoebox line and length before long, beating Finch with a beauty. Oooh, and he does it again to finish the over too. Finch yet to score from eight deliveries.
2nd over: Australia 10-0 (Warner 10, Finch 0) Target 341. Shami gets the new ball from the other end and is taken around the corner by Warner for a couple. He overcorrects next up, giving the opener a half-volley, timed beautifully through cover for four. “Hardly any flourish,” says Harsha. He tries to go again later in the over beyond midwicket but doesn’t much of it, still trickling away for three.
1st over: Australia 1-0 (Warner 1, Finch 0) Target 341. Forward in defence to begin from Warner before slashing at a delivery well outside the off-stump that jagged and bounced off the seam to beat the edge. He’s off the mark with a tuck behind square. Finch is also beaten to finish this very tidy over, missing an off-drive.
“I loved the Greg Rowell interview,” writes Nick Toovey. “I hope it goes down well with the man himself, as the end of the career left a bitter taste. Feels there was something a bit fishy with his action, sure, but before the days of proper testing it’s impossible to know. Hope he doesn’t growl or grumble about his treatment.”
He was very good discussing the end of his career. Yes, a senior cap never came but the memories of that summer, at least in some part, gave him a special moment. A lot of excellent players from his generation never had that.
The players are back on the field. The hosts, as Harsha Bhogle notes, only have five front-line bowlers. Can they find a way to break up this outstanding Australian partnership before they get busy? David Warner is going to take the first delivery of the chase, to be sent down by Jasprit Bumrah. They require 341. PLAY!
Before we return, if you’re into the history Australian one-day cricket, you’re probably an expert on what happened 25 years ago when Australia ‘A’ joined the World Series Cup. In turn, you’ll certainly enjoy this chat we had with Greg Rowell, the fast bowler who so nearly denied the senior side in that famoust first final.
“I didn’t know any English,” says Harbhajan Singh on the Star coverage, “until I played against these guys” he says pointing to Matthew Hayden. Banter!
“Good afternoon, Adam.” Hello, Krishnamoorthy. “After accounting for the usual 35 runs from Bumrah’s 10 overs, Australia needs to score 306 runs from 40 overs. Tough indeed. Some Finch hitting maybe? Or a Warner innings? Anything to take that smirk off Kohli’s face. Your obsession with the Indian captain fascinates me! But to the game: is there any situation not suited to Warner right now? So, forget about Bumrah’s frugality, he needs to get his name into the book early on.
If you want to keep an eye on the Test Match, join Rob Smyth in a second tab.
Thank you, JP. Any relation to Albie Howcroft, I wonder? We’ll have to find out when we next hear from him on Sunday. Might it be that you’re tuning in here after seeing Ben Stokes just get out, keen to see how they got on in the PJs? If so, welcome to Rajkot, where India have timed their run well after being sent in. Can they bounce back with the ball as well after the lashing they copped on Tuesday in Mumbai? Let’s find out. Keep me company as we work through the chase.
India 340-6
A well-constructed 340 then for India, which feels just on the positive side of par on a tremendous batting pitch in the middle of a ground with a lightning outfield. Three of the top five reached 78 but none went on to make a century, but the spread of runs ensured constant momentum for India throughout. Dhawan shone at the top, KL Rahul at the close, with Kohli knitting it all together and providing the impetus that was missing in Mumbai.
The ball did nothing in the air or off the seam for Australia on a flat pitch of true bounce. All of which makes Zampa’s figures of 3/50 quite exceptional. Finch captained boldly, searching for wickets throughout, but only once did Australia look to be gaining a foothold in the contest and that was quickly ended by KL Rahul.
After Tuesday’s display from Finch and Warner Australia will be undaunted by the chase. To find out if they can rewrite more records stick around for more of this but with Adam Collins on the keys.
50th over: India 340-6 (Jadeja 20, Shami 1) Shami only just avoids a golden duck when Starc executes a perfect yorker before Jadeja hits the in-field and jogs a single. Excellent final over for Australia. Starc ends with 0/78 from his 10. That must be up there with his very worst returns.
Updated
WICKET! KL Rahul run out (Carey) 80 (India 338-6)
Starc with the final over of the innings. One. One. Bye. Run out. Starc has been tough to get away in his final over and after beating the bat twice in succession, India’s risky singles to the keeper final prove KL Rahul’s undoing. He goes for a scintillating 80 from 52 balls.
49th over: India 335-5 (KL Rahul 79, Jadeja 18) Cummins is back for one final over, and it’s a decent effort, quick, full of variety, and yet he still manages to concede six over third man from a KL Rahul thick edge then four more when the Indian star turns his attention to fine leg. India’s No 5 has really given this innings the impetus it demanded after that strong start, but it was no given considering Australia’s burst of wickets just before the final assault. 0/53 from Cummins’s 10 overs.
Updated
48th over: India 321-5 (KL Rahul 66, Jadeja 17) Glorious square drive from KL Rahul to greet the start of Starc’s penultimate over. That shot brings up 1,000 ODI runs for the versatile batsman-keeper. No more boundaries from the remainder of the over, but Starc is staring down historically bad figures for his extraordinary career.
KL Rahul completes 1000 ODI runs in his 27th innings. He‘s the fourth quickest Indian to reach this milestone after Kohli, Dhawan and Sidhu. Hopefully, many more thousands will come in the future.#INDvAUS
— Karnataka Ranji Team║ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಣಜಿ ತಂಡ (@RanjiKarnataka) January 17, 2020
47th over: India 310-5 (KL Rahul 60, Jadeja 13) Richardson with his final over of an up and down afternoon and it passes by without a boundary. He started poorly, he’s conceded plenty, but Richardson finished strongly and collected a couple of wickets for his troubles. 10 overs 2/73 from Australia’s third seamer.
It is testament to the talent of KL Rahul that despite India's constant meddling with his position in the team and his role in the side he continues to excel. What a brilliant player. #INDvAUS
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) January 17, 2020
46th over: India 302-5 (KL Rahul 58, Jadeja 7) Mitchell Starc returns to see out the innings from his end. He’s too quick for Jadeja and catches his gloves with a well directed lifter but KL Rahul is much more on song and he’s quickly onto a low full toss, slicing it over cover for four. If you liked that, you’ll love what he did next, stepping onto his front foot and dismissing a 140kph Starc length deliver over extra cover for six! What a hit! 300 up for India and the crowd in Rajkot is ecstatic.
.@klrahul11 joins the party. Brings up a well made FIFTY off 38 deliveries.
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 17, 2020
Live - https://t.co/v6DBzYGolk #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/1QyU3DEtIj
45th over: India 287-5 (KL Rahul 46, Jadeja 5) Richardson loses his line and Jadeja glances fine for four, but it’s otherwise a good death over for the South Australian.
WICKET! Pandey c Agar b Richardson 2 (India 280-5)
Another first ball of the over wicket for Australia and for the second match in a row India are losing wickets when they should be accelerating. Pandey made only two before mistiming a Richardson slower ball to Agar at deepish midwicket.
44th over: India 280-4 (KL Rahul 44, Pandey 2) Zampa finishes with 3-50 on a road against Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli all with their eyes in. Superb performance. India really should have been on for 350 today but Zampa has been a major factor why they’re likely to come up short.
Since the start of 2019 in ODIs, KL Rahul has scored 645 runs in 15 innings playing only 10.5% false shots. Of all Indians in the same timeline, only Virat Kohli (10%) has been more secure. #INDvAUS
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 17, 2020
WICKET! Kohli c Starc (Agar) b Zampa 78 (India 276-4)
Zampa gets Kohli again! This time in unconventional circumstances. Kohli tries to put the first ball of the leggie’s final over into the sight-screen but Agar intercepts it on the boundary, offloading it Starc before he overbalanced into the rope. Superb skill but one we now take for granted we see it so often. No Kohli for the onslaught. How much will that damage India’s total?
Bowlers dismissing Kohli most times in ODIs:
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) January 17, 2020
6 - Rampaul
5 - Perera, Southee, ZAMPA
4 - Holder, Randiv, Swann, Jhye Richardson#IndvAus
Updated
43rd over: India 277-3 (Kohli 78, KL Rahul 42) Good over from Richardson, lots of variation and off-paced deliveries. India throw the kitchen sink at plenty but but can’t find much timing.
Michael Slater has made an excellent point on TV about Kohli running along the danger area of the pitch, without the transgression being picked up by the umpires. He’s done it on a number of occasions now.
42nd over: India 270-3 (Kohli 76, KL Rahul 38) KL Rahul has come to play tonight, he’s been busy alongside Kohli and now he’s putting the foot down, lofting Agar into the sight-screen for six. Very few dot balls on offer any more with plenty of hard running.
Abhijato Sensarma has emailed in: “Kohli is set. The death overs are approaching. There is plenty of batting left in the bank to give him the license to go for the kill. His average has been crossed too. Unless something anomalous happens, the greatest ODI batsman of all time is going to compile an incredible total by the time this innings comes to a close.”
41st over: India 257-3 (Kohli 73, KL Rahul 28) Zampa returns for his ninth over and three good deliveries are undone by a fourth (that isn’t a bad ball) but Kohli somehow sweeps a delivery on off stump through mid-on, between two boundary riders in the cow corner region. Remarkable. India still yet to tee-off, but they’re on course for a handy total.
40th over: India 249-3 (Kohli 67, KL Rahul 26) Richardson returns and an over of dabbed singles looks to be another decent over for Australia, until - yet again - the final ball of the over goes for four, this time KL Rahul with the short-arm jab. Earlier, there was a sniff of a run out chance butchered by Steve Smith.
39th over: India 241-3 (Kohli 65, KL Rahul 20) Australia were just starting to wrest a bit of control and rattle India a touch, but a loose delivery from Agar carved behind point for four by KL Rahul nipped that in the bud. It’s new bat time out in the middle with the heavy artillery brought out for the final slog.
38th over: India 234-3 (Kohli 64, KL Rahul 14) Cummins gets another over. Finch must be banking on a Kohli or bust strategy because some of these death overs are going to be delivered by bowlers who would not like to be sending them down. The strategy almost pays off when the first delivery of the day misbehaves and shoots shin height off a length past the Indian skipper’s off stump.
37th over: India 231-3 (Kohli 63, KL Rahul 12) Finch crosses his fingers and throws the ball to Agar again. The damage is acceptable, four singles a dot and a two. What has Kohli got up his sleeve for the sprint home?
36th over: India 225-3 (Kohli 59, KL Rahul 10) Finch goes back to Cummins (who is going to bowl the death overs!?) and Kohli welcomes Australia’s star man to the crease with back-to-back fours of majestic skill. Both deliveries landed in the same spot, the first was whipped with an orchestra conductor’s flick to square leg, the second guided effortlessly through the covers. “Koh-li, Koh-li, Koh-li” booms the crowd. Marvellous cricket.
Kohli batting on 50* - his last eight 50+ scores in home ODIs
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) January 17, 2020
121
113
140
157*
107
116
123
85 (last)#INDvAUS
35th over: India 216-3 (Kohli 50, KL Rahul 10) Zampa has grown into this innings, bowling uncomplicatedly full and straight. He and Cummins are the only Australians with creditable economy rates today.
🙌 ODI half-century No.56 for India skipper Virat Kohli 🙌#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/n2akzNyUBU
— ICC (@ICC) January 17, 2020
Updated
34th over: India 211-3 (Kohli 47, KL Rahul 8) Finch retains Starc in the attack, but it might be a bit of a waste to the new batsman with so many overs left to be bowled by the spinners. KL Rahul reinforces that opinion with a textbook cover drive for four, then Kohli rubber stamps it, cutting well in front of square (is that even a thing? It was a cut-style shot, but played so early with arms in front of body) for four more.
33rd over: India 199-3 (Kohli 42, KL Rahul 1) Zampa has not been flash today. There’s nothing out there for him, but he has two wickets courtesy of persevering on a stump-to-stump line and waiting for the mistake.
Meanwhile, over in South Africa, Ben Stokes is doing Ben Stokes things again.
4000 runs and 100 wickets in Tests:
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) January 17, 2020
Garfield Sobers
Ian Botham
Kapil Dev
Carl Hooper
Jacques Kallis
Daniel Vettori
BEN STOKES #SAvENG
WICKET! Shreyas b Zampa 7 (India 198-3)
Zampa gets a third spell, but his first without Dhawan out in the middle. Kohli gets off strike first ball, then Zampa dots up Shreyas two deliveries in a row before the batsman tries to use his feet and attack through the on-side but succeeds only in yorking himself and being castled. An unconvincing 17-ball seven.
32nd over: India 197-2 (Kohli 41, Shreyas 7) Pace from both ends now as Finch senses he might be able to blast Shreyas out. Starc first has to navigate Kohli, who controls strike for the first half of the over. When he gets his shot at the new man his line and length are awry and there’s no damage done. Interestingly, the TV coverage has pointed out how deep Shreyas gets in his crease with his exaggerated trigger back and across. It’s a very bold movement, that’s for sure, a bit Gary Ballance if you ask me, and one I expect is susceptible to some late movement.
31st over: India 194-2 (Kohli 38, Shreyas 7) Australia fancy Sheryas with the short ball but Richardson is popgun on this surface with this ball and India’s No4 pulls him well in front of square for four. It might have been the old fast bowler’s double bluff, but the follow up bumper also wasn’t nasty enough.
Updated
30th over: India 187-2 (Kohli 37, Shreyas 1) Zampa’s back into the attack, and he bamboozles Sheryas early and is inches away fro a return catch after inducing a loopy leading edge.
Australian spinners in Overs 11-30
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 17, 2020
1st ODI - 4.78 runs per over
2nd ODI - 6.58 runs per over
India have taken on the spinners today and haven't let them settle down in the middle overs compared to the first ODI#INDvAUS
Updated
29th over: India 184-2 (Kohli 32, Shreyas 0) Time for Kohli to take over after allowing Dhawan to dominate their partnership. Can he put his foot on the accelerator today unlike India’s middle-order on Tuesday?
Updated
WICKET! Dhawan c Starc b Richardson 96 (India 184-2)
Finch cannot trust Agar any longer so he returns to Richardson. Dhawan doesn’t care, he just stands and delivers, drilling a six-iron into the sight-screen. Then he’s out! Out of nowhere! A rank delivery from Richardson on the batsman’s hip but all the left-hander can do is shovel it straight to deep backward square leg. A gift for Australia, and Finch’s change works.
Updated
28th over: India 177-1 (Dhawan 92, Kohli 32) Labuschagne gets a second over and he’s starting to get a touch of purchase, more than Australia’s other two spinners have managed so far. The doubt he’s put into Dhawan’s mind earns him three dots, but he’s lucky to escape with a single when a hefty swipe goes straight to the boundary rider. But just like the early overs, when Australia look to be building momentum ball six goes for four, this time Dhawan collecting a boundary with a very well executed paddle sweep that leaves short fine-leg no chance of making an interception.
Shikhar Dhawan v Australia in ODIs - Average
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 17, 2020
Batting First - 53.8 (6 fifty-plus scores in 12 innings)
In Chases - 41.0#INDvAUS
Updated
27th over: India 171-1 (Dhawan 87, Kohli 31) Dhawan is opening his shoulders now, skipping down the pitch and swinging Agar in his arc over midwicket for six. That forces a drag down from the bowler which is whipped behind square on the on-side for four. Kohli is just calmly rotating strike, advancing to 31 largely by inviting Dhawan to keep hitting boundaries. India flying.
26th over: India 159-1 (Dhawan 76, Kohli 30) Australia need something out of nothing, so they’ve turned to Marnus Labuschagne’s leg-spin. His first ball doesn’t land in a terrible spot, but there is no turn on offer so his off stump line to Dhawan turns into an easy cut for four. The follow up is fuller and Dhawan fails to time it, almost offering a leaping caught and bowled opportunity that Labuschagne isn’t tall enough to take.
25th over: India 151-1 (Dhawan 70, Kohli 28) Dhawan enlivens a slightly becalmed passage of play by lofting Agar over midwicket for four, and backing it up with a cute reverse sweep.
24th over: India 141-1 (Dhawan 61, Kohli 27) Peculiar over from Starc, full of varying lines, lengths and speeds, nothing much happening for Australia out there right now though.
23rd over: India 136-1 (Dhawan 58, Kohli 26) Humdrum middle-overs fare from Agar. Five singles. No spin. Even bounce.
22nd over: India 131-1 (Dhawan 55, Kohli 26) Mitchell Starc’s return means helmets replace caps. It also means Shikhar Dhawan collects back-to-back 50s with a nudged single. Bat raised, Dhawan raises his bat in anger to Starc but can only get a thick edge to a wild slash, but it’s enough to skim away for four through the vacant cordon.
21st over: India 123-1 (Dhawan 49, Kohli 22) Better from Agar in his second over, especially to Dhawan who is unsure what to do with some well flighted deliveries from around the wicket. Eventually he goes over the top, straight, but for just a single. Kohli is in run-a-ball mode, finding gaps at will.
Looking to attack Zampa straight is a good tactic. In ODIs, Zampa has conceded at 8.1 runs per over and inducing only 2.4% false shots when batsmen have looked to play attacking shots through mid on & mid off in his ODI career. #INDvAUS
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 17, 2020
20th over: India 120-1 (Dhawan 48, Kohli 20) Australia set perfect fields on Tuesday and their attack bowled to them. There’s been much more fiddling around today as India bat with greater fluency. Four singles from a routine middle-overs set of six from Zampa.
19th over: India 116-1 (Dhawan 46, Kohli 18) Spin from both ends with Ashton agar coming into the attack. Between overs Kohli and Dhawan replaced their helmets with caps, both men prowling like tigers eager to get their teeth stuck into the new bowler. And Dhawan doesn’t waste much time, calmly placing a non-spinning delivery from outside off stump through the covers for four.
India are on autopilot, and their destination is 300+.
18th over: India 107-1 (Dhawan 40, Kohli 17) Kohli brings up India’s 100 with the latest in a series of controlled drives in the arc between mid-off and cover that earn him one or two every time. The strike rotation eventually gets to Zampa whose excellent control finally lets him down and Kohli doesn’t miss out on a rare long-hop, whipping it to leg for four.
17th over: India 99-1 (Dhawan 38, Kohli 11) Cummins into his seventh over very early in this innings, but he remains wicketless. He does liven Kohli up with a sharp bouncer, but it flies away for four byes, then he has the Indian skipper flirting outside off stump but there aren’t enough fielders in the cordon to make it anything resembling a chance.
16th over: India 93-1 (Dhawan 37, Kohli 10) Kohli has breezed to double figures. When he’s on he just doesn’t allow dot-balls, not even against Zampa. He’s clearly trying to set a much more urgent tone during these middle overs than we saw on Tuesday.
15th over: India 87-1 (Dhawan 35, Kohli 6) The die is cast. Kohli’s arrival means Cummins’s return and the resumption of the line wide outside off stump. It doesn’t work this over though, Kohli imperiously driving for four through extra cover to a delivery that shows how good a track this is to bat on. It was a fraction short of half-volley length but once Kohli had the line he could trust the pitch and hit through it securely.
This is the first time Rohit Sharma has been dismissed trying to play the conventional sweep shot against leg spinners in ODIs. He's played the shot on 26 occasions and has a false shot percentage of 38.5%. #INDvAUS
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 17, 2020
14th over: India 82-1 (Dhawan 35, Kohli 1) Before he perished, Rohit was Ro-hitting the ball all over Rajkot, swatting Zampa powerfully through the on-side for four, but he picked the wrong bowler to sweep. Zampa is stump-to-stump and he was full enough to not worry about height with his appeal too. Are India going to make the same mistake they made in Mumbai and not convert their starts?
WICKET! Rohit LBW Zampa 42 (India 81-1)
Standard leggie from Zampa, it holds its line without turning much, Rohit attempts to sweep but misses, the ball hits the pad and the finger goes up. Rohit is adamant the line was sliding down leg so he makes the T sign but DRS only confirms the bad news. Rohit, in supreme form before that, is gone, and India lose their review in the process. Huge, welcome, and unexpected breakthrough for Australia. Adam Zampa with the golden arm again. And guess who’s out at No 3? His bunny, Virat Kohli.
ROHIT OUT‼️ Zampa gets the breakthrough for the Aussies 👏
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) January 17, 2020
📺 Stream #INDvAUS ad-break free on Kayo: https://t.co/CfILOrTeyB
Live blog 📝: https://t.co/n0TFedYPEO pic.twitter.com/8UBnOo79nf
Updated
India review! Rohit is given out LBW to Zampa.
13th over: India 76-0 (Rohit 38, Dhawan 34) Richardson continues and Rohit treats him with disdain, stepping down the track and slapping a bouncer off the front foot wide of mid-on for a one-bounce four. That was a very alpha play. India motoring.
12th over: India 68-0 (Rohit 32, Dhawan 33) Adam Zampa gets an early whirl and after a couple of respectful dabs Dhawan drills a missile that knocks the non-striker’s off stump out of the ground. Rohit was fortunate Zampa didn’t get a fingertip onto that because he was out of his ground. Zampa was also probably not to get a fingertip on it because his fingertip might well have lost contact with the rest of his finger; that was firmly hit. Not a great deal to report in terms of spin or drift.
11th over: India 64-0 (Rohit 30, Dhawan 32) Right on cue Rohit tries one of those meaty pulls with fast hands but he doesn’t get all of it and settles for two in front of midwicket. A delicate late cut then rotates the strike. Dhawan peels off his first ramp of the night, that got him into a spot of bother in Mumbai, but this time he glides Richardson safely up and down to third man. No gliding ball six of the over - yet again a boundary to end the over - this time Dhawan tucking into a nothing short ball from Richardson.
Time for spin. Big passage of play coming up with Australia lacking control in these early exchanges.
300 runs and counting since a wicket fell in India...
— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) January 17, 2020
10th over: India 55-0 (Rohit 26, Dhawan 27) Cummins is still going and he makes his mark in his fifth over, getting one to lift on Dhawan, the ball bouncing up into his ribcage, winding the Indian opener who has to have a little lie down and a stretch before he can continue.
I’m working through something in my head - is it possible for Rohit to have hands that are both soft and heavy? I hope it’s not a contradiction. He hist shots phenomenally hard without applying a great deal of force. The majority of the time he’s happy to let the ball come to him, and he uses his wrists to great effect too. It’s largely timing, a joy to watch in full flow.
9th over: India 52-0 (Rohit 25, Dhawan 26) Om-i-nous. Rohit ticks India beyond 50 with a nudged single and a back-foot drive that could not have been timed more sweetly.
50-run partnership between #TeamIndia openers @ImRo45 & @SDhawan25.
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 17, 2020
Live - https://t.co/v6DBzYGolk #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/9b21pbY9uK
Updated
8th over: India 46-0 (Rohit 19, Dhawan 25) Change of ends for Cummins and he extracts a genuine edge from Dhawan but the two slips he opened with are long gone and the batsman continues on his merry way. That way includes another boundary from the final ball of an otherwise decent Australian over but Cummins lost his line and the batsman was onto it in a flash, whipping four runs behind square leg.
7th over: India 39-0 (Rohit 18, Dhawan 20) Kane Richardson replaces Pat Cummins and a decent over is ruined when he slips onto Rohit’s pads and that sledgehammer of a bat comes down and sends the ball scudding to the square leg boundary with nary a tickle.
Looks like we’re in for a couple of big old scores today at this rate. I wonder if Australia’s spinners can dig in when they get a chance?
Shikhar Dhawan scores at strike rate of 94.4 in his first 30 balls facing Australian seamers in ODIs in India. Of all the opponents he has faced at home, he scores at a quicker rate only against WI (97.7) at the start of his innings.#INDvAUS
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 17, 2020
6th over: India 32-0 (Rohit 13, Dhawan 18) Rohit’s arrived. Becalmed for five overs he finds the boundary in magnificent fashion, holding his pose after caressing a textbook cover driven boundary from a Starc half volley. He picks up two more with a cut that is almost caught brilliantly at backward point by Steve Smith but his full-length dive could only parry the shot with his right hand low to his right. Smith is good enough to take those, but it’s only a half-chance really. Rohit hoicks another two to finish a productive over for India.
5th over: India 23-0 (Rohit 5, Dhawan 18) Cummins has dragged his length bat a fraction and it causes both batsmen issues. First Rohit plays over a pull shot then Dhawan is beaten for pace trying to cut before risking a chop on with another cut attempted close to his body. Cummins follows that up with the first genuine jaffa of the day, pushing the ball back up to that good length, finding a touch of movement away from the left-hander and beating the outside edge.
4th over: India 20-0 (Rohit 4, Dhawan 16) Starc has yet to settle into a groove and this pitch is much easier to hit through the line than that at the Wankhede meaning the margin for error is much smaller. Dhawan increases his score by six, two cut through point and four flicked down to fine-leg so firmly it practically took the diving Adam Zampa over the rope with it.
3rd over: India 14-0 (Rohit 4, Dhawan 10) A single from the final ball of Starc’s over means Cummins gets a go at Dhawan after his maiden to Rohit. He doesn’t find the same line and length to the left-hander though and his second delivery is slapped to the cover boundary on the up after offering enough width for the batsman to free his hands. The left-right combination then does for Cummins’s radar after the strike is rotated with Rohit helping a leaky leg-side delivery to the midwicket fence.
2nd over: India 5-0 (Rohit 0, Dhawan 5) Mitchell Starc has a brand new ball of his own to bowl with, but his first delivery is too full and straight allowing Dhawan to check drive with an economy of movement that is four runs from the second it leaves the bat. There’s little else to report besides a play and a miss well outside off stump to a delivery that was asking to be spanked. No obvious swing or seam either from Starc.
Meanwhile, Michael Slater has just made a dreadful kookaburra impression on commentary.
You think you want Slater to stop talking, but then he replaces it with a kookaburra impersonation. #INDvAUS
— Cat Jones (@Cricketbatcat) January 17, 2020
Updated
1st over: India 0-0 (Rohit 0, Dhawan 0) Would you expect any less? Cummins is on the spot from the get-go and Rohit responds with a respectfully straight bat. A Test-like maiden to start us off.
Nothing to report in the air or off the pitch. This looks to be a very true surface.
Pat Cummins is going to take the first over the match, Rohit Sharma on strike, here we go!
The players are on their way out into the middle, we’ll be underway shortly.
The pitch promises to be flat and hard and full of runs.
The stumps have been hammered in, the pitch has been swept, Rajkot is ready for the second ODI! #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/rCqZrkIM30
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 17, 2020
List A Games at SCA Stadium, Rajkot
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) January 17, 2020
Batting First - Avg Runs per wkt : 50.2, Scoring Rate : 6.2
Batting Second - Avg Runs per wkt : 38.5, Scoring Rate : 5.8#INDvAUS
Things are looking good for Australia, very good indeed, as Sam Perry writes in The Guardian Australia’s weekly cricket column.
For the men’s team, the shoots could scarcely be more green: undefeated this summer, a generational No 3 unearthed and an arguably unrivalled bowling attack. It has been 15 years since Australia could lay claim to consistent cricketing dominance, and for the first time since then, they appear to be giving themselves a decent shot at it. Then again, as has been pointed out, the supposed Battle of the Titans could also be understood as a belated World Cup third-place play-off. There’s probably a while to go yet.
The weather is mild in Gujarat, in India’s north west today. Temperatures will be in the low 20sC during the match , accompanied by bright sunshine and a gentle northerly breeze.
In case you missed any of the action from the first ODI, here’s the match report from Mumbai.
India XI
Two changes for India, one of them forced, with Rishabh Pant suffering a concussion during the first ODI when he was struck on the helmet by a Cummins bouncer. KL Rahul will deputise behind the stumps with batsman Manish Pandey slotting into the middle order. Elsewhere, paceman Navdeep Saini comes in for just his second ODI, in place of Shardul Thakur.
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul (wk), Shereyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah
Karnataka skipper Manish Pandey finally gets a ODI game for India after 16 months. The kind of form he’s in — we’re on for some serious exhibition of batting from him. Good luck, Manish. #INDvAUS
— Karnataka Ranji Team║ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಣಜಿ ತಂಡ (@RanjiKarnataka) January 17, 2020
Updated
Australia XI
The visitors are unchanged, unsurprisingly. Although Josh Hazlewood must be a tad disappointed at not being rotated into the XI.
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa
Australia win the toss - and will bowl first
Aaron Finch has done it again, he’s called correctly and invited India to have a bat. Let’s see if we get the same result as Tuesday...
Australia wins the toss and elects to bowl first in the 2nd ODI against #TeamIndia.#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/VJk8YB30P7
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 17, 2020
Updated
How about a really tortured musical segue to kick us off? Ok, ok, well, David Warner’s ton in Mumbai was his 18th in ODIs. He’s only two away from becoming a 20th Century boy.
I’ll get my coat. And my feather boa.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live OBO coverage of the second ODI between India and Australia in Rajkot. The action gets underway at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium at 7pm AEST.
In recent times it’s been rare to find the mighty Indian cricket leviathan under the pump but a 10-wicket ODI defeat on home soil with a near-fully fit squad (one skippered by no less than Virat Kohli) will have that effect. Not only that, but Tuesday’s mauling in Mumbai was India’s fourth consecutive home defeat to Australia. A reaction can be expected in Rajkot.
Kohli lamented after the defeat earlier this week that his side failed to bat with enough purpose during a first innings that was allowed to meander during the middle overs like the bad old days of one-day cricket. Surely he will restore himself to first drop and ensure that doesn’t happen again tonight.
It’s not all about Kohli though. Australia have acclimatised quickly to Indian conditions and boast a well balanced side in excellent form. The pair of opening centurions meant the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne were not required to bat, while the bowling attack covered all bases, highlighted by Pat Cummins’s discipline, Adam Zampa’s bravery and Mitchell Starc’s unerring wicket-taking yorkers.
Another fascinating duel lies in store. And you can join in the fun throughout the night via email: jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com or Twitter: @JPHowcroft.
