RAJKOT: He fell to a scorching Jasprit Bumrah yorker with the bat after scoring just five, but Glenn Maxwell showed on Wednesday night exactly why he'll be a big cog in Australia's wheel for the 2023 ODI World Cup in conditions where spin will always be a factor.
Playing his first ODI in six months- his last game was at the Wankhede Stadium against India on March 17- the 'Big Show,' back after recovering from an ankle injury and enjoying fatherhood, rocked India's boat with his rather innocuous-looking off-spin, taking 4-40 in 10 overs on a batting paradise to star in Australia's morale-boosting 66-run victory at the SCA Stadium here.
Ringing in five changes to their XI, including bringing back skipper Pat Cummins and pace ace Mitchell Starc for this inconsequential game, Australia, riding on Maxwell's rather unexpected heroics with the ball, finished the series with a respectable 2-1 scoreline, thus avoiding a whitewash at the hands of India just before the 2023 ODI World Cup. Interestingly, this was Maxwell's 30th match against India. In his previous 29 games, all he had taken was four wickets at an average of 163.00!
After they elected to bat on a typical Khanderi belter, the Aussies rode on four half-centuries off the bats of Mitchell Marsh (96, 84b, 13x4, 3x6), who didn't come out to field after suffering from cramps while batting, Steven Smith (74, 61b, 8x4, 1x6), Marnus Labuschagne (72, 58b, 9x4) and David Warner (56, 34b, 6x4, 4x6) to race away to 352 for seven in 50 overs.
Scoring in heaps since his return as a 'concussion substitute' for Cameron Green in the ODI series in South Africa, Labuschagne has now made a solid case for a last-minute inclusion in Australia's World Cup squad.
Chasing 353, India seemed to be sailing smoothly towards the target when skipper Rohit Sharma (81, 57b, 5x4, 6x6), returning from a break, was firing on all guns, first with Washington Sundar (17) and then Virat Kohli (56, 61b, 5x4, 1x6) for company. However, after scalping Sundar (caught superbly by a diving Labuschagne at wide long-off) to end a 74-run opening stand for India, 'Maxi' netted both the big fishes to derail the hosts' chase, which wound up at 286 in the final over.
1/10:Australia win 3rd ODI, India win series
PTI
2/10:Glenn Maxwell
<p>Glenn Maxwell returned career-best figures of 4-40 to end Australia's five-match losing streak with a consolation 66-run win over India in the third ODI on Wednesday. </p>PTI
3/10:Mitchell Marsh
<p>Mitchell Marsh led the batting onslaught with his 96 as Australia posted 352-7, a total their bowlers defended by bowling out India for 286 in Rajkot. </p>ANI
4/10:Mammoth total
<p>Marsh, David Warner (56), Smith (74) and Marnus Labuschagne (72) all contributed to a mammoth total that looked like going beyond 400 before India hit back. </p>AFP
5/10:Jasprit Bumrah
<p>India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets while left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav took two. </p>PTI
6/10:David Warner
<p>Warner hammered Prasidh Krishna for three fours and a six in the seventh over and raced to his fifty in 32 balls in the next with another hit over the fence. </p>AP
7/10:45-ball 50
<p>Marsh reached his half-ton in 45 balls but casually slapped Kuldeep straight to cover after a 84-ball knock with 13 fours and 3 sixes. Getty </p>Getty Images
8/10:Big Show
<p>Maxwell got the first three wickets including skipper Rohit Sharma, for 81, and star batsman Virat Kohli, for 56, after a brisk start by India. </p>Getty Images
9/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma raised his fifty in 31 balls before Maxwell got the captain with a stunning caught and bowled in his second over. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Maxwell then sent back Virat Kohli soon after the former captain's 66th ODI fifty and, despite a fighting 48 by Shreyas Iyer, the Indian batting folded in 49.4 overs. </p>Getty ImagesThe way he got Rohit, though, had a stroke of luck in it. Just after he had been pummeled for a six over wide long-on, Maxwell, while taking evasive action, caught the Indian captain with his right hand off his own bowling, which left him stunned. It was Rohit's fourth 50 in his last six ODIs, and, while he smashed six sixes, the veteran batsman must soon rediscover the art of making big hundreds.
A few overs later, Maxwell had Kohli, till then batting in his regal fashion, mishitting a half-tracker in the air, with Smith, running backwards completing the catch. Coming back for his second spell, Maxwell damaged the dangerous looking Shreyas Iyer's (48, 43b, 1x4, 2x6) off-pole with one that slid past the bat.
Earlier, overcoming extremely sultry, tough conditions, Australia put up their second-highest score in India, and the highest at this venue in an ODI. After he added 78 in just 49 balls with fellow opener Warner to give a flying start to the Aussies, Marsh, playing a power-packed knock gave an ideal launchpad for a score of 400-plus when he put on 137 for the second wicket in 119 balls with Smith.
Clobbered for the first half of Australia's innings when Marsh, Smith and Warner, who scored his third half-century of the series, were firing away, India pulled things back once Marsh was caught playing a tired shot at cover off Kuldeep Yadav by Prasidh Krishna.
Later, Mohammed Siraj, playing his first game since his magical six for 21 at Colombo in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, trapped Smith, who went past 5,000 ODI runs during his knock, lbw. Given a break from the second ODI, pace ace Jasprit Bumrah, who went for 51 in his first five overs, bounced back in signature style, taking three for 30 in his next five overs.
With three for 81 in 10 overs spread across five spells, Bumrah ended up with his most expensive ODI figures, but India would be happy that both times he played in this series, the fast bowler ended up finishing his quota of 10 overs.
