Rohit Sharma was left stranded in the pursuit of 289 runs in the first ODI. Shikhar Dhawan, his opening partner, departed in the very first over. Ambati Rayudu, India’s fixed candidate for No. 4, too did not disturb the scoreboard.
Sandwiched between these dismissals was that of Virat Kohli. India lost 3 wickets for 4 runs in 3.5 runs.
In came MS Dhoni and blocked everything that came his way to survive, further adding pressure on Rohit. Dhoni perished after making 51, his second slowest fifty in ODIs. The Australians never let the lower-order off the hook, but they couldn’t stop Rohit who scored 52 per cent of India’s runs. However, that was not enough. India lost the match by 34 runs.
Note: Make your fantasy cricket team by knowing the statistics.
Headlines
BCCI have suspended KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya over their comments in a TV show, sending them home. All-rounder Vijay Shankar has been added to the squad.
Let’s list down the players who are likely to help us collect bonus points in our fantasy XI for the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval.
My XI: Alex Carey (wk), Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Marcus Stoinis, Jason Behrendorff, Jhye Richardson, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav
Wicketkeeper:
Although Dhoni scored more runs than Carey at the SCG, the Australian southpaw looked more comfortable at the crease. He middled almost everything before Kuldeep Yadav had him caught at first slip. Dhoni, on the other hand, looks out of sorts. The first ODI was his first match – international or otherwise – since November 1, 2018.
Batters:
After Rohit, if there was a batter who was a delight to watch, it was Handscomb. He came to the crease in the 29th over, and it was his 73 that stole the momentum from India.
Before Handscomb took the centre stage, Khawaja had laid the foundation: he scored 59 off 81.
It is always, always the case that at least one of Rohit, Dhawan, and Kohli plays an important innings in limited-overs. If two go all guns blazing, all hell breaks loose for the fantasy players. Rohit proved us right in the series opener. It’s time Dhawan and Kohli put their best foot forward. For that matter, Kohli has already scored an ODI hundred at the venue, in the 2015 World Cup against Pakistan. In the same match, Dhawan smacked 73.
All-rounders
Stoinis is probably having the best time of his life. He helped Australia win the first T20I against India, bludgeoned 146 in 5 matches of the ongoing BBL, and continued his good form by walloping 47 off 43 at the SCG. To glorify him further, he also took the all-important wicket of Rohit.
Bowlers
Australia’s new-ball bowlers, Behrendorff and Richardson, set the ball rolling, taking 6 wickets between them. For India, Bhuvi and Kuldeep did the most damage. However, it is difficult to understand the nature of the pitch for the Tuesday’s game.
Playing XI for Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (wk), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Lyon, Jason Behrendorff
Playing XI for India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav/Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami
Pitch report
Bhuvi believes that pitch at the Adelaide Oval will assist the batters, that there won’t be reverse swing. However, the average scores read 229 and 200 in the first and second innings respectively. Either way the Indian batters will have to pull up their socks if they are to keep the series alive.
Squads:
Australia: Aaron Finch(c), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Jason Behrendorff, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa, Ashton Turner
India: Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami
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