CHENNAI: As he wrapped up the post-match press conference late Wednesday night after Australia’s series-clinching victory at Chepauk, Mitchell Marsh thanked the journalists present and topped it off with a “Go, Delhi!” chant. The allrounder had just been adjudged Player of the Series for his pivotal 194 runs as a new-found ODI opener for the Aussies, but mentally he was already in IPL mode.
Delhi Capitals will miss the firepower of Rishabh Pant this season, but the apparent ease with which Marsh attacked the hosts’ well-rounded bowling line-up on the cusp of IPL 2023 — averaging 97 with a strike rate of 131 — has engineered expectations of even more explosive knocks for his franchise in the coming two months.
Marsh donned the opener avatar as David Warner was unavailable for the first two ODIs due to elbow injury. Warner returned for the decider in Chennai, but with scores of 81 and 66* in two low-scoring games, Marsh had made the top-order spot his own for the series. Warner slid down to No 4.
Marsh hit 47 runs in as many balls, his third consecutive top-score for the visitors. “I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to open the batting. As a group we spoke before the first game that this is the start of our campaign for the World Cup and certain guys are going to bat in different positions at times. It's really important that we have a squad mentality. With Davey (Warner) out for the first couple of games it was my opportunity,” the 31-year-old said.
Marsh was quick to add that he might revert to a middle-order role in the future if the team management so decides. He said: “Warner's been an incredible player for Australia for a long time and probably one of the best ODI openers ever, so I'm sure he'll slot back in at some stage but think it's really important that we are all flexible. It was nice to perform for the team."
Returning from a three-month ankle injury layoff, Marsh played the series as a specialist batter, and enjoyed the reduced workload for a change. “It was fantastic. Certainly a lot easier on the body. I was a lot fresher when I was batting. I love the fact that we have got allrounders in our squad, which gives the captain a lot of options when we are out there. Good old (Marcus) Stoinis had to bowl 10 overs tonight, and I felt bad for him as he hadn’t done that in a long time. As much as I love bowling, it’s also about being there for my mates and making sure I give the skipper as many options as I can. Definitely, bowling is not too far away.”
In terms of leveraging Marsh’s three-dimensional ability, Australia’s ‘loss’ this series could be Delhi Capitals’ gain.
