- Series ends 2-1 in Australia’s favour after India’s first win
- Glenn Maxwell’s blistering 59 not enough at Manuka Oval
When India limped to 152-5 in a dead rubber featuring two much-changed sides, this ODI had little to mark it out as a potential classic. But Hardik Pandya (92) and Ravi Jadeja (66) regrouped, then launched a ferocious assault at the death to power India to something approaching par on a good batting track with more pace than previously seen this series.
In reply Australia lost wickets early and at regular intervals, but while Finch (75) and then Maxwell (59) were around the chase always looked achievable. Maxwell in particular batted in the outrageous manner to which we have become accustomed, smacking three sixes in his 38-ball knock, including one preposterous 100m switch-hit.
Related: India avoid whitewash with 13-run win over Australia in third ODI
A superb ODI ends in India’s favour. They avoid the whitewash.
Hazlewood digs out an excellent Bumrah yorker to begin the final over. Zampa then completely misses a well disguised slower bouncer. Then he misses a yorker and he’s pinned plumb in front. DRS cannot save him. That was comprehensive.
49th over: Australia 288-9 (Zampa 4, Hazlewood 6) Zampa tries to play about three shots to Thakur’s first delivery but none of them succeed in putting bat on ball. A single brings Hazlewood on strike and after nailing a handsome square drive he only just makes his ground returning for a second. Both batsmen then work singles to round off another positive over for India.
15 off six required.
48th over: Australia 282-9 (Zampa 2, Hazlewood 2) Excellent over from Natarajan at the death, mixing up yorkers, slower balls and bouncers to earn a wicket and concede just four singles.
21 off 12 required.
Two in two balls for India! Agar gave himself room and drilled a nice looking shot towards extra cover, but he couldn’t clear the fielder and Kuldeep holds onto the head height catch.
Thakur is handed the ball, not Bumrah, and he and Kohli take an age to set a field every delivery. The match is really grinding at a slow pace now as we tick beyond 10pm. India really need to address this.
The first ball is a slower variation that Abbott chips away for a single. The second is a wild wide full toss that Agar can only glide to third-man for one. Two more singles follow before there’s a huge appeal for LBW as Abbott is pinned by a yorker. No wicket, no review, but no run either.
46th over: Australia 274-7 (Agar 26, Abbott 2) Agar drills the first delivery of Natarajan’s over for one, but he’s mindful of his dodgy calf and doesn’t attempt a second. Abbott then does well to keep out a yorker that tails back into the right-hander, but it’s the first of three dots in a row with the pressure rising around Manuka Oval. Abbott responds by giving himself room and stepping down the track, drilling Natarajan straight. It should be two, but again Agar’s limp restricts it to one. They do pinch a second to close the over.
29 off 24 required.
45th over: Australia 270-7 (Agar 23, Abbott 1) 33 off 30 required. This has been a splendidly topsy-turvy night with momentum swings at regular intervals.
Kohli has to call on Bumrah to change the momentum, but Australia are happy to deal in singles against the strike bowler, who doesn’t help himself with a couple of wides. BOSH! That’s the change of momentum, and then some. After four nothing deliveries Bumrah nails the yorker, hammering the base of leg stump, evading Maxwell’s attempted slog. Massive, massive moment in this contest.
44th over: Australia 264-6 (Maxwell 58, Agar 21) There’s a delay to the 44th over while Agar receives some strapping to a calf injury. He hobbled a little between the wickets in the previous over, and any impediment to his running will not be ideal as the chase tightens. Or it may just encourage Maxwell simply to hit more sixes.
When the over begins Natarajan is millimetres away from the perfect yorker, but it’s still not good enough to deny Maxwell ANOTHER WILD SIX flicked with the angle way over midwicket. He follows that up with a calm, precise drive wide of mid-off for four. A single brings Agar on strike and the right-left partnership causes problems with Natarajan’s line. First Agar is able to free his hands and cut for four, then after he rotates strike there’s a massive wide.
LOOK AT THIS ABSOLUTE NONSENSE #AUSvsINDpic.twitter.com/eAyPuDduXl
43rd over: Australia 246-6 (Maxwell 46, Agar 16) Agar cuts a couple to start Kuldeep’s final over, then drills a single to bring Maxwell to the crease. Everyone’s delighted he did because Maxwell has just switch-hit a 100m six off a left-arm wrist spinner. Don’t ask me how. That was wild. More smart singles complete avery good over for Australia.
If Maxwell is still batting in the 50th over Australia win, right?
G'day Glenn. #maxwellball
42nd over: Australia 234-6 (Maxwell 38, Agar 12) Another pivotal moment with Bumrah recalled for his eighth over. Again Agar does his job and gets off strike first ball, inviting Maxwell to do his thing. He doesn’t capitalise though, drilling a dot back to the bowler in his follow through then missing out on a leg-stump full toss. A dot and a single to Agar are then backed up by a change-up bouncer that Maxwell allows to pass through. Decent couple of overs for India.
41st over: Australia 230-6 (Maxwell 37, Agar 10) Big over in the context of the match with Kuldeep being invited to bowl with Maxwell on fire. The wrist spinner starts with a single to Agar, then three dots to Maxy, the pressure rising with each scoreless moment. Eventually the ball beats the infield but it’s straight to the offside sweeper. An Agar single completes a superb over for India.
40th over: Australia 227-6 (Maxwell 36, Agar 8) Natarajan is back into the attack and it’s a big over for Australia.
Maxwell launches at the debutant immediately, but can only pick out the legside sweeper. Agar smartly gets off strike and Kohli takes an age to set his field. When play restarts Maxwell manipulates his wrists to steer the ball through point for three, then Agar goes one better with a toe-end to fine-leg after Natarajan nails a perfect yorker that really deserved so much better. Maxwell rounds it all off with a beautiful delicate guide through third-man for another boundary.
India have showed more attacking intent today than Australia today. Their execution of shots has also been better than the hosts.
Attacking shot percentage:
India - 55%
Aus - 50%
False shot percentage:
India - 11%
Australia - 25%#AUSvIND
39th over: Australia 213-6 (Maxwell 28, Agar 2) Thakur hustles his way towards Agar and a probing line and length sets up four dot balls to start the over. A single brings Maxwell on strike and he’s happy to milk one to retain strike.
The run-rate is now above 8rpo.
Calamity for Australia! Just as this partnership looked set to guide them home Carey is run out in horrible fashion. After watching Maxwell smash Jadeja for four his partner was eager to get him back on strike but tried too hard, setting off after the ball struck his pad, only to be sent back. Kohli was on the scene in a flash and lobbed the ball to Rahul to complete the dismissal.
38th over: Australia 211-6 (Maxwell 27, Agar 1)
37th over: Australia 205-5 (Carey 38, Maxwell 22) Thakur, who has impressed so far, replaces Bumrah, but he is not impressed with some sloppy Kuldeep fielding that turned one into three. Maxwell has his eye in now, working the angles around Manuka Oval, sizing up the right ball to attack. Dot balls are now a rarity.
(•_•)
<) )╯ MAX
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\( (> WELL
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(•_•)
<) )╯ BALL
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36th over: Australia 197-5 (Carey 34, Maxwell 19) Australia execute two glorious strokes for singles before Maxwell hammers Jadeja miles over cow corner with a muscular slog sweep for six. Jadeja drags the follow-up down and Maxwell goes again! That’s on the roof! Oh boy, that was MASSIVE! He rocked back and absolutely smashed the leather off the Kookaburra. He tries to go three in a row, but Jadeja holds it back and finds some turn, beating the outside edge. The same series of events occurs to finish off the over. Maxwellball is well and truly upon us.
ONTO THE ROOF!
Maxwell's turning it on now!
Live #AUSvIND: https://t.co/L7AjidJPm9pic.twitter.com/lDT5JqvQVl
35th over: Australia 183-5 (Carey 33, Maxwell 6) Bumrah gets a second over in his spell, his seventh overall, but it goes for seven, over half of them courtesy of a Carey pull.
34th over: Australia 176-5 (Carey 28, Maxwell 5) Jadeja back into the attack after the final drinks break. Manuka Oval is in full darkness now, and it looks pretty chilly out there. Four classic Jadeja-over deliveries work in India’s favour, but then Carey gives himself room and lofts a sweetly-timed drive straight back over the bowler’s head. That was controlled and elegant.
33rd over: Australia 168-5 (Carey 22, Maxwell 3) Attacking move from Kohli with Bumrah recalled to the attack. Maxwell begins by getting himself off strike, and from a safe distance he can watch Carey almost chop on to his stumps. A very harsh wide precedes a couple of very sharp bouncers, the first of which Maxwell pulls for one, the second catches Carey on his glove and the ball loops over Rahul and away to safety. Australia have enjoyed plenty of good fortune in their chase so far. Bumrah has looked more like his old self after a slow start to his tour.
32nd over: Australia 162-5 (Carey 19, Maxwell 1) Natarajanrecovers from an early wide to find an unhittable line and length to keep Carey pinned to his crease. He almost snags a wicket from his seventh delivery of the over, deceiving Australia’s keeper with a lovely slower cutter. The run-rate is creeping up towards 8rpo.
31st over: Australia 159-5 (Carey 18, Maxwell 0) Australia really up against it now, but with Glenn Maxwell at the crease, anything can happen.
Green gives himself room and carves Kuldeep through the covers for four. then he steps right across his stumps and paddles an inventive two. He’s batting with plenty of intent and confidence on debut. And now he’s out. Sorry. He tries to slog sweep a hittable delivery but he picks out Jadeja running in from the square leg boundary.
30th over: Australia 151-4 (Green 15, Carey 16) Natarajan is back for his second spell after taking a wicket with his opening burst in ODI cricket. And he almost makes it two! Carey drives off a length over mid-off and the leaping Kohli gets his fingertips to it, but he can’t hold on, and the ball scuttles away to the rope. Tough chance. Green, who is playing without fear, then swings like a rusty gate in a strong breeze, but connects only with fresh air.
After 25.3 overs, both teams had the same score #AUSvIND
29th over: Australia 145-4 (Green 14, Carey 11) After patting away a couple of dots, Carey slog sweeps Kuldeep for a much-needed four to kickstart his time in the middle. He tries again a couple of balls later but is lucky to see a loopy top-edge land safely behind the keeper.
28th over: Australia 139-4 (Green 14, Carey 5) Jadeja continues his speedy overs of left-arm finger spin while Australia are focussed on building another partnership.
27th over: Australia 137-4 (Green 13, Carey 4) Kuldeep returns and it’s an over of cat-and-mouse with the loopy left-arm wrist spin against the industrious left-arm batting of Carey. The run-rate is well above 7 now for Australia, but they need to consolidate for a period.
26th over: Australia 133-4 (Green 12, Carey 1) That is a hammer blow for Australia and exposes a long lower-middle order. But Green takes up the fight immediately, driving Jadeja for six high over the sightscreen. That was quite the statement from the debutant.
Could that be the decisive moment in this contest? After Green nudges Jadeja away for a single, Aaron Finch holes out to long on. The ball was in the slot to hit but Finch doesn’t get everything on it and Dhawan completes the catch running to his left.
25th over: Australia 122-3 (Finch 75, Green 3) After Thakur troubles the debutant, Green does well to rotate the strike and get Finch in the firing line. The skipper nurdles a hard-run couple then fails to capitalise on a rare loose delivery, slapping a cut straight to point.
“Hardly news,” emails Mark Lytle, talking my language, “but the TV commentary on FoxSports Australia, led by Warne and chums is worse than ever. Excruciating, blokeish drivel, with Isha Guha often talked over. Kohli was talked up as nailed on for a ton once he passed 10, which is just tedious fanboy stuff anyone can say. Can’t help but think they lack material. How about an analyst who can contribute usefully? Also, ‘bantz’ in the first innings included: “What was your first car?” and something or other about childhood potato chips that Shane says we need to bring back. Ugh. How on earth will this appeal to anyone bar old blokes who *already* like cricket? Dreck.” Testify!
24th over: Australia 119-3 (Finch 73, Green 1) Jadeja is racing through his over to Green and the noise around the bat has lifted a notch as India try to apply the squeeze. Just one run added to the scoreboard and the tourists are lively.
23rd over: Australia 118-2 (Finch 73, Green 1) There’s a gorgeous indigo sunset across Manuka Oval now as the game enters a delicate phase. Can Australia find enough support for Finch to set up a late assault? Or can India winkle out one or two more and take a stranglehold? Thakur almost ensures it’s the latter, beating debutant Green’s outside edge with consecutive deliveries, the second of which is an absolute jaffa, squaring up Australia’s No.5 with a cross-seam delivery that somehow moves away off the pitch. A pressure-relieving single closes out the over.
Henriques tries to slap Thakur across the line but picks out the short midwicket. Gift of a wicket for India!
22nd over: Australia 116-2 (Finch 72, Henriques 22) That previous over has set Finch’s pulse racing and he begins Jadeja’s next over with an imperious four that bounces once over long-on before crashing into the fence. Henriques is less assured against the left-arm spin, but survives.
Most scores of 50+ in men's ODIs since Jan 1, 2019:
17 - Finch, Kohli
15 - Hope
14 - Rohit
11 - Babar #AUSvINDhttps://t.co/UiIsRGE6RI
21st over: Australia 111-2 (Finch 67, Henriques 22) Back to pace for India and Thakur’s strong action. Henriques, who has dealt in ones and dots for a long period, enjoys the change, blasting a stand-and-deliver four through wide mid-on from the crease. Finch gets in on the act too, pulling an ill-advised short ball from under his nose that beats the legside sweeper. A greatly accepted momentum building over from Australia.
20th over: Australia 98-2 (Finch 59, Henriques 17) Jadeja gets one to grip and beat Finch’s outside edge in another tight over. This is nip-and-tuck.
19th over: Australia 96-2 (Finch 58, Henriques 16) Excellent over from Kuldeep, keeping Finch on his toes.
18th over: Australia 93-2 (Finch 56, Henriques 15) Fifty to Aaron Finch! And he brings it up in style, sweeping Jadeja powerfully over square leg for six. He tries the same shot the following ball but he mistimes it and is lucky - not for the first time tonight - to see the ball land between two possible catchers.
17th over: Australia 83-2 (Finch 47, Henriques 14) Finch and Kuldeep are enjoying an interesting battle, and a beautifully swept four from the third delivery of the over puts the batsman on top. A checked lofted straight drive the following ball continues the attack, with Finch placing the ball into the gap like a pro golfer lobbing a wedge to the heart of the green, away from the traps.
16th over: Australia 74-2 (Finch 38, Henriques 14) Left-arm spin from both ends now with Jadeja joining the attack. He starts around the wicket to Henriques, attacking the stumps with his dangerous arrows. A single rotates the strike, and there’s a big appeal for a catch down the legside, but it isn’t sent upstairs. India are enjoying some control at the moment.
@JPHowcroft Australian and Indian one day teams still haven't learned you will likely get knocked out of tournaments with a long tail. England played Rashid with 10 FC centuries at 11 yesterday. You either have to be lucky or bat deep to win a tournament
15th over: Australia 72-2 (Finch 37, Henriques 13) Finch and Henriques work four singles and the latter also nurdles a two from a humdrum Kuldeep over.
14th over: Australia 66-2 (Finch 35, Henriques 9) Another run-out opportunity goes begging, this time Henriques is fortunate to survive after a superb stop by Jadeja at backward point isn’t honoured with a throw of a similar standard. Some ratty batting pads prompt an earlier than scheduled drinks break, after which Thakur continues to hit the bat hard from a good length and earn a maiden with Australia’s No.4 pinned to the crease until the final delivery, which he swings at and misses. India appeal for the catch behind but Kohli declines the option of DRS.
13th over: Australia 66-2 (Finch 35, Henriques 9) Kuldeep is rattling through his work and skips through his over for the concession of just a brace of singles. He troubles Finch on a couple of occasions too, first getting the Australian skipper playing back to a spinning delivery that pitched pretty full, then rapping him on the pads to one that beat the inside edge. And INDIA REVIEW! It wasn’t a confident appeal initially but Virat Kohli was very keen. What does DRS reveal? Impact in line, no bat... spinning past leg stump! Review lost.
12th over: Australia 64-2 (Finch 34, Henriques 8) Thakur tries the same delivery to welcome Henriques to the crease, and - as she should have a delivery earlier - is helped to the fine-leg fence. The correction is short and wide and Henriques works his hands through it quickly enough to collect boundary number two from ball number two.
With Smith and Labuschagne gone this is no longer an intimidating batting order. Can India capitalise?
No century for Steve Smith
Shardul Thakur with the big wicket.
Live #AUSvIND: https://t.co/L7AjidJPm9pic.twitter.com/du4akmeNPB
It’s on! Nothing flash from Thakur, leaking onto Smith’s pads, but the run machine can only feather a glance down the legside where Rahul was already heading, and he calmly pouches a huge wicket.
11th over: Australia 56-1 (Finch 34, Smith 7) Time for spin, and our first look at Kuldeep Yadav for the night. He starts a little straight and Smith unfurls a sweep-ish stroke that is practically a reverse drive. He was almost facing the keeper by the time he connected with a very slow delivery. Kuldeep varies his lines and lengths well with Australia trying to come down the track and impose themselves. There’s not a lot on offer for the spinner off the pitch though.
Aaron Finch ODI dismissal rate against pace deliveries projected to hit his stumps, by year since 2018:
2018 - 17
2019 - 15
2020 - 35
Finch has made clear technical changes and appears to be much more comfortable against balls on his stumps.#AUSvsIND
10th over: Australia 51-1 (Finch 33, Smith 3) Shardul Thakur begins his spell with a full delivery that Finch drives off the outside edge just wide of gully and down to third-man for four. Otherwise it’s an even battle between bat and ball with Thakur settling quickly into an appropriate line and length around 140kph.
Finch doing his best to get out. India refusing to take the bait. #AUSvIND
9th over: Australia 45-1 (Finch 28, Smith 2) Third life for Finch! This one only just counts though after the batsman checked an uppish drive that flew high to the bowler’s left in his follow-through. Bumrah stuck out a hand but the ball failed to stick. Finch again checks an uppish drive later in the over and is lucky not to pick out square-leg. He’s struggling to read Bumrah off the pitch in the twilight.
WinViz shown on @FoxCricket broadcast. Game nicely poised at this early stage of the second innings, with India just ahead according to our prediction model.#AUSvsINDpic.twitter.com/XJpvGXfFIm
8th over: Australia 44-1 (Finch 27, Smith 2) Finch has another life! From a no-ball Smith dabs into the covers and takes off but Pandya is onto it like a flash and has an age to throw down the stumps at Finch’s end but to no avail. Australia riding their luck at the moment. They’re helped by Natarajan failing to complete his over with a series of wides passing leg stump with the angle. Eventually he corrects himself and lobs down a half-volley outside off stump for Finch to caress to the boundary in a manner that encourages a statuesque follow-through.
7th over: Australia 33-1 (Finch 22, Smith 0) Textbook cover drive for four from Finch to herald Bumrah’s latest over. This is clearly a length pitch and Bumrah is being penalised for anything too full, while the deliveries that are doing anything off the seam have been much too short...
... and then we finds the length he also finds the outside edge of Finch’s bat from a nothing shot - but Dhawan drops a sitter in the slips. That was a huge moment in this contest. The bowler did his job but the fielder fluffed his lines. To add insult to injury the next ball clips Finch’s pads and runs away for four leg-byes.
6th over: Australia 25-1 (Finch 18, Smith 0) A great moment for Natarajan, but he will bowl many better balls for no reward. The pull was on, but Labuschagne just didn’t execute it. Flushed with success India are vocal and energetic in the field, and that energy is sustained by a probing end to the over from Natarajan who targets Smith’s off-stump on a length to end with a wicket maiden.
LABUSCHAGNE IS OUT ‼️
Watch #AUSvIND ODI Series on #FoxCricket Ch 501 or Stream on Kayo: https://t.co/zgH4HWWwhW
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Match Centre: https://t.co/wCRObVso5apic.twitter.com/AQm038gFTU
Back of a length from Natarajan coming over the wicket, angling the ball across Labuschagne, and as the batsman rocks back to pull all he can manage is an inside-edge onto his stumps. India have the early breakthrough and a rare look at Steve Smith with work to do.
5th over: Australia 25-0 (Labuschagne 7, Finch 18) Another fizzing Hollywood ball for Bumrah to start the over, but again it’s too short for Labuschagne to consider nicking. The next one also beats the bat before a streaky square drive rotates the strike. He pitches up to Finch - and he goes for six! That was line and length, at pace, the batsman hit through the line but without timing, and with the willow twisting on contact the ball soared over the infield and away over the rope near point. These modern bats hey...
4th over: Australia 18-0 (Labuschagne 6, Finch 12) Finch advances to Natarajan’s first ball with the menace of grizzly bear stalking prey. He defends that delivery, but it sets up a shorter follow-up ball that he gobbles up with relish, slapping a pull miles in front of square with all the time in the world. Natarajan, who had begun over the wicket, now switches around, and the change of angle works in his favour, cramping the Australian captain for room.
3rd over: Australia 14-0 (Labuschagne 6, Finch 8) Bumrah begins his second over with another delivery that beats the bat. Like a couple from his opening over, they look pretty seaming away and thudding into the keeper’s gloves, but the length is a fraction too short to induce a wicket. After Finch rotates the strike Labuschagne muscles his first boundary with a square drive off the back foot to a ball on the rise.
Hardik Pandya has just revealed to @FoxCricket that he won’t be bowling tonight. He also said he pulled up sore after bowling in the last game #AUSvIND@cricbuzz
2nd over: Australia 9-0 (Labuschagne 2, Finch 7) Crunch! Welcome to Australia Thangarasu Natarajan. After a couple of dots the debutant drops a fraction short and Finch is on it in a flash, rocking back and pulling with outrageous timing over midwicket for six. The left-armer keeps his head up and skids one across Labuschagne to complete his first over in ODI cricket.
1st over: Australia 2-0 (Labuschagne 2, Finch 0) Bumrah’s second delivery climbed off a length and seamed away from Labuschagne, making the batsman open his eyes cartoonishly wide like one of those animated dogs that’s just seen a rabbit in a dress. The warning is followed up by an even better ball, fuller, squaring-up the makeshift opener and beating the outside edge. The final ball of the over nips in off the seam and beats the inside edge! Before that Labuschagne gets off the mark with a nudged two.
The players are back out and we’ll be back underway in no time. Australia’s opening partnership features the familiar face of Aaron Finch, and the unfamiliar one of Marnus Labuschagne, deputising at the top of the order for the injured David Warner.
Jasprit Bumrah has the new ball.
While I’m on deck during this run chase, you can send me something pithy on Twitter, or if your musings are more expansive, drop them to me by email. I’m open to any suggestions for how to erase from my brain the periodic interventions from Shane Warne on the TV coverage. Does anybody even try to produce him any more?
Thank you very much G-Unit. And thank you also to Hardik Pandya and Ravi Jadeja for poppin’ them thangs over the boundary at the death to set up a competitive total. Australia now have a brisk jog on their hands, rather than the stroll it looked like being before that late assault.
What a partnership to finish that innings. It ended up at 150 from 108 balls, unbeaten.
86 runs in the last six overs.
50th over: India 302-5 (Pandya 92, Jadeja 66) Abbott to bowl the last. Jadeja gets an outside edge, and nearly picks up four but Labuschagne sprints across from deep backward to keep it to two. Another couple as Jadeja drives straight, then four runs as he splits mid-off and extra cover, along the carpet. Perfect placement!
Jadeja misses a big swing and Pandya is backing up halfway down the pitch, calling him for a bye to get strike. Pandya has 88 to his name with two balls to face.
49th over: India 289-5 (Pandya 88, Jadeja 58) The good news for Australia is that Hazlewood doesn’t concede a boundary. The bad news is that Pandya is running twos like Virat Kohli. Four of them in a row to close the over, and the last of them is airborne to deep cover where Agar slides in and reaches it on the half volley. If Agar had gone forward instead of kneeling he could have caught that, it bounced a few centimetres in front of his fingers while he was leaning back.
48th over: India 279-5 (Pandya 79, Jadeja 57) Pandya tries to destroy a delivery from Abbott, but miscues for a single. Well, good. That brings Jadeja on strike.
Four! As he walks across his stumps, dips his knees, and lifts a low full toss over backward square leg. Australia have no one out there.
47th over: India 260-5 (Pandya 78, Jadeja 39) Hazlewood to Jadeja who squirts a drive square for a run. Such a clean striker of the ball usually, but he’s 27 from 37. Perhaps just doing the job to support Pandya. Who hops across his stumps, tries to baseball down the ground again, only gets the toe and it dribbles down for two runs. Strange field now, Finch has two versions of what I would call a short third man. Zampa is fine, a bit deeper than a third slip. Finch himself is squarer. Then there’s a backward point on the rope. Really banking on bowling wide, it looks like. But Hazlewood doesn’t and Pandya hits hard to deep midwicket for one run.
There goes Jadeja! His time comes at last, and he swings Hazlewood sweetly over midwicket, pitched up and off the pads for six!
46th over: India 243-5 (Pandya 75, Jadeja 26) Abbott in his eighth. Pandya gets a leading edge that loops over backward point and bounces away, bobbling like a winning Solitaire card until it hits the rope. Three men out on the leg side, from long-on to deep backward. Long-off and extra cover. Backward point is open, so Pandya looks to go that way again: backing away and cutting for six! Sensational shot. Behind square on the leg side is an option too, so Pandya shuffles across and glances four. This is smart batting.
45th over: India 226-5 (Pandya 59, Jadeja 25) The Indian pair trying to find the boundary now but they can’t get past the protection. Dabs, drives, and eventually Pandya just baseballs Hazlewood over the bowler and the umpire for two. Hazlewood ducks rather than thinking of a catch, and that was the sensible option given the wind-up. Abbott collects down the ground and hits middle stump on the full, but the batsmen are home. Last ball of the over Pandya finally gets what he wants, driving through extra cover and beating the dive on the rope coming from a squarer position.
44th over: India 216-5 (Pandya 51, Jadeja 23) Moises Henriques will get a bowl. His first of the day. I forgot he was even in the XI. He bowled well on Sunday night, 1 for 34 from seven. His mediums today do the job well until the last ball, when Jadeja hangs back in his crease, waits, and pokes a cut shot between point and backward for four. Before that, Pandya drove a run down the ground for his milestone, his sixth fifty in ODIs. He’s been impressive in his efforts this series, playing injured.
43rd over: India 209-5 (Pandya 49, Jadeja 18) It’s been a day for the spinners. Zampa finishes off his day with 10 overs, 1 for 45. Five singles from the over, has his boundary riders positioned well and the batters keep finding them.
42nd over: India 204-5 (Pandya 46, Jadeja 16) Pandya wants to go, whapping a flat-bat shot past Abbott for four, but again it’s Jadeja getting tangled up that slows the momentum. Three dots in a row to end Abbott’s over, and Jadeja has 16 from 28 balls. They’re past the 200 but they need about 10 an over from here.
41st over: India 198-5 (Pandya 41, Jadeja 15) Here’s Zampa, as the shadows lengthen across Manuka’s grass. He’s bowling fast and flat for the most part, outside the lefty’s off stump, at the right-hander’s pads. Keeps it tidy again.
Ralph Jennings emails. “Zampa mullet. Not a good look yet nothing mentioned? Approval? Throwhback? Memories of childhood? The nation must know!”
40th over: India 192-5 (Pandya 39, Jadeja 11) Pandya wants to go against Maxwell, opening up his stance hoping to wipe across the line to midwicket, and instead getting a squirt away behind square leg. It still has enough force to earn him a boundary though, beating the dive at deep backward. Jadeja can’t cap off the over though, so it goes for eight.
39th over: India 184-5 (Pandya 32, Jadeja 10) Abbott is mostly bowling short in this over. Jadeja doesn’t mind too much, hanging back and picking off runs. Nor Pandya, who gets a rare boundary to close the over, muscling a pull shot in front of square, and this time Green’s dive is a messy affair, landing heavily after pounding around the midwicket boundary.
38th over: India 176-5 (Pandya 26, Jadeja 8) You’d better believe Maxwell is continuing. What’s the result? Three singles from the over. The secret weapon is firing. Well backed up in the field, some fine stops within the circle.
37th over: India 173-5 (Pandya 24, Jadeja 7) Abbott returns from the Swimming Pool End. Zampa still has two overs left. Pandya nails a pull shot, but Green does well running around from deep square leg further behind square to dive and save. It’s a similar story on the other side of the field as Pandya carves over backward point, this time Zampa doing the diving. Zampa’s deflection though rolls away so Pandya gets three this time, where he only got one from Green.
36th over: India 167-5 (Pandya 20, Jadeja 5) Maxi’s back, alright. Another over for GJM with 15 to go. Australia’s over rate is good today, with all this spin. And why not keep it going while it’s working? It takes Jadeja three balls to tug away a single, Pandya drives one, Jadeja flicks one, and Pandya can’t beat the field with his cut. Three from the over!
35th over: India 164-5 (Pandya 19, Jadeja 3) Agar to finish his work with the ball to the left-handed Jadeja, and Finch brings himself into slip. The batsmen trade a few singles, then Agar is furious with himself when he lets a ball slide down leg, and Pandya can sweep it fine for four. Zampa’s chase is in vain. Agar kneels on the pitch looking longingly after that ball. I don’t think he can be too sad about 2 for 44 from 10, though.
34th over: India 156-5 (Pandya 13, Jadeja 1) India’s issue today has been that they just don’t have a method for turning the strike over regularly when times have been difficult. Hazlewood gets through a full over to Pandya for the cost of one run from the last ball, flashed to deep point.
33rd over: India 155-5 (Pandya 12, Jadeja 1) Ravindra Jadeja joins Pandya, their last pair with batting credentials. Shardul Thakur can hold the stick, and aside from that there’s not much to come. Three runs from the Agar over, he’s got 2 for 36 from nine now.
32nd over: India 152-5 (Pandya 10) By the barest of margins!
The over starts as Hazlewood sends down three balls before Pandya can get off strike, a back-foot force into the covers. Kohli takes two off his pads, again hammering the first run in order to create the time for the second as the two boundary riders converged. Scolds himself furiously the next ball as he misses out on width, cutting underneath the ball and edging on the bounce to Carey behind the stumps.
31st over: India 149-4 (Kohli 61, Pandya 9) Hardik Pandya does love to wallop spin, but he’s using a sensible method against Agar thus far, just knocking singles into the gap every ball he faces. Five from the over.
30th over: India 144-4 (Kohli 59, Pandya 6) Hazlewood comes on, and Kohli immediately looks more at home against the pace. Drives to deep cover, straight enough of the sweeper to hustle two runs, then drives behind point, fine enough of the sweeper to hustle two. Giving Abbott the runaround on the fence. Placement, smart. Classic Kohli. Only five from the over though as Hazlewood finishes with three dots in a row.
29th over: India 139-4 (Kohli 55, Pandya 5) Kohli finds a boundary! Hasn’t hit one since the 12th over, but he gets a short enough length from Zampa to cut behind point.
28th over: India 133-4 (Kohli 50, Pandya 4) When Kohli drives a single from Agar, he reaches an absurd mark of 60 – yes, sixty – half centuries in ODI cricket. Add in his 43 centuries, and that’s 103 innings of fifty or more, from 242 innings including today. It’s staggering.
27th over: India 128-4 (Kohli 47, Pandya 2) Zampa continues the squeeze, three singles from his over. The Indians will have to disrupt this approach pretty quickly if they want to compete.
26th over: India 125-4 (Kohli 45, Pandya 1) That over leaves Agar with 2 for 23 from six overs. Zampa 1 for 25 from six. The spinners doing the job.
That one’s plumb, and they waste a review anyway! Again it’s a batsman trying to sweep Agar, and this time the ball hits the back leg, kneeling, in front of off stump. Rahul consults Kohli before reviewing, but unless Kohli thought his partner had hit it, I’m not sure why there was any reason to doubt that one. Kohli himself will have to hope he’s not sawn off by an errant decision later today. Shocker of a review really.
25th over: India 122-3 (Kohli 43, Rahul 5) The regular wickets mean that Kohli hasn’t been able to press the accelerator much. Not that he would have gone too hard at this stage, but might have bumped it up a notch or two. He does some hard running on Rahul’s behalf to get back for two runs, but it’s still only four from the over.
24th over: India 118-3 (Kohli 42, Rahul 2) Agar carries on, doing a bit of a Nathan Lyon mirror-image impression from the grandstand, with his scone shining in the afternoon light and his tall finger-spinning metronomic action. Four singles.
23rd over: India 114-3 (Kohli 40, Rahul 0) Iyer’ll see ya later, says Shreyas. KL Rahul is next to the crease. He’s been on fire through the IPL, batted well the other night too.
Caught at backward point! Zampa loops it outside off stump, Iyer plays a flashing square drive, but airborne and ill-directed. Marnus takes it chest-high and comfortably enough despite the heat on the ball.
22nd over: India 111-2 (Kohli 38, Iyer 18) Three runs from the bat plus a leg bye as Agar twirls away.
21st over: India 107-2 (Kohli 37, Iyer 16) Three singles from the Zampa over. Kohli today has gone past 12,000 ODI runs, by the way. Only Jayawardene, Jayasuriya, Ponting, Sangakkara and Tendulkar ahead of him, and he hit this mark a lot faster than any of them.
20th over: India 104-2 (Kohli 36, Iyer 14) An eventful over for Green. He’s pinged for a no-ball from his first delivery, which looks a tough call given the replay. We’ve seen a couple of these, with third umpires calling no-ball when there seems to be a fraction of boot on the paint. But he responds perfectly, bowling back of a length to beat Iyer’s swipe and take a little nick into the keeper’s gloves. No run from the freebie. Four runs though from the short ball: Iyer hooks at that like he’s fleeing a wasp, but gets enough timber amongst the flailing to split the two outriders at deep square and long leg.
19th over: India 96-2 (Kohli 35, Iyer 8) Iyer is the one to get some success against Zampa, using a bit of width to play a back-cut for four. With a few singles that makes eight from the over, which creates a much different atmosphere to Zampa’s last few.
18th over: India 88-2 (Kohli 33, Iyer 2) Cameron Green is back, and he’s changed ends to the Manuka End of the ground. It works a bit better for him initially beating the outside edge of Kohli a couple of times with bounce outside the off stump. As when he started, Green manages four dots in a row, but doesn’t then tail off as he did earlier. Maintains his discipline, and Kohli drives nicely to mid-on without beating the field, then runs a single to third man. A single from the over, and that’s drinks.
17th over: India 87-2 (Kohli 32, Iyer 2) Zampa bowls tightly, right on that line of off stump, not giving the batsmen any room to get through the line of the ball. Iyer is batting in his helmet, Kohli in the cap. Iyer also has a little India-orange towel tucked into the back of his waistband, not sure what that gets used for.
16th over: India 84-2 (Kohli 30, Iyer 1) So a decent stand comes to an end, 56 runs between Kohli and Gill. Now it’s Shreyas Iyer to the middle.
Should be a pretty straightforward one, but Gill sends it upstairs. He drops to one knee to play a sweep shot and misses. Hit on the knee roll on his front pad and hitting in line with the stumps. The replay shows there was no edge on the ball, and the tracker shows it clipping the bails. Umpire’s call on height, so the Indians will retain their review but lose their wicket. And that looked a good call live, so they can’t have too many complaints there. Blocker Wilson backs another wicket long after his bowling days were done.
15th over: India 81-1 (Gill 33, Kohli 28) Adam Zampa arrives for his first over. The leg-spinner has dismissed Kohli seven times for Australia. Kohli doesn’t look fazed. A couple of singles for him, a couple for Gill, to start things off.
14th over: India 77-1 (Gill 31, Kohli 26) Agar produces a much better over second time around. An early single to Gill, then four dots to Kohli who isn’t going to be overly aggressive at this stage if the opportunities aren’t there.
13th over: India 76-1 (Gill 30, Kohli 26) Abbott to Gill, straight at the pads and Gill works to the leg side for a comfortable run. Gets the strike back, tries a big lofted shot down the ground but gets the toe end of the bat and it trickles away for three runs. Kohli cuts a couple more. Runs coming nicely.
Digvijay Yadav has asked for an ABC Grandstand link. Why not?
12th over: India 68-1 (Gill 26, Kohli 22) Ashton Agar to bowl, a tall left-arm orthodox spinner coming around the wicket to the left-handers, trying to angle in and turn the ball away. Kohli produces that signature wrist-based hockey slap shot of his through cover for a couple, then as Agar drops a bit short, Kohli dips the knees to get underneath and ball and lift it over backward point with a powerful late cut. It doesn’t seem possible that a late cut could be powerful, but he can create remarkable combinations. Four runs there, nine from the over.
11th over: India 59-1 (Gill 25, Kohli 13) Another over of good-bad trail mix from Green. A nice line outside off and some extra bounce that Kohli controls well to run to third man, a similar ball to beat Gill. But again Green offers an overpitched option and Gill takes it up, driving four down the ground. And again Green drops a bit short, Gill pulling him for four. That was a bit streaky, over the head of midwicket by a metre or two.
10th over: India 49-1 (Gill 16, Kohli 13) A strange old over for 77 versus 77. Gill plays conservatively for four balls, knocking it around without scoring, then gallops down the track and tries to flat-bat Abbott over cover. Misses completely. Nudges the last ball away to keep the strike.
9th over: India 48-1 (Gill 15, Kohli 13) And now another moment we’ve been waiting for: Cameron Green has the ball in hand.
Daniel McDonald has emailed on our subject of tall batsmen: “If David Boon sat on Geoff Marsh’s shoulders they might have made 2 metres?”
8th over: India 40-1 (Gill 15, Kohli 5) Abbott is wearing 77 on his shirt, which was a popular number with some of the big names in the WBBL. Sophie Devine wore 77 while captaining the Perth Scorchers, as did Alyssa Healy for the Sydney Sixers. Abbott has it here today, and... so does Shubman Gill, in fact.
Gill is watching from the other end though as Abbott bowls to Kohli, a good test for the bowler. With some work from his wrists and a minimum of apparent effort, Kohli drives a slightly overpitched ball down through mid-on, and it beats a diving pursuit from Labuschagne back into the rope.
7th over: India 35-1 (Gill 15, Kohli 0) Hazlewood carries on, and Gill plays an audacious flick over deep square leg for six! Got under that one, it went a long way up, but stayed up there in the high-altitude breeze for long enough to carry the fence down there and come back via the crowd, Zampa’s boot, and the umpire’s disinfectant. This after JH had bowled a wide and been drive for two runs through cover, resulting in nine from the over.
6th over: India 26-1 (Gill 7, Kohli 0) The captain Virat Kohli is at the crease early. You never get the sense that India’s supporters are too disappointed about that.
Welcome back Sean Abbott!
He debuted in this format back in 2014, and hasn’t played since. A few T20s for Australia but not in the 50-over form. He starts well: pitched up, driven for a single by Dhawan. A yorker swinging in to Gill deflected for a single.
5th over: India 24-0 (Dhawan 15, Gill 6) Hazlewood starts the over with a no-ball, overstepping and picked up by the third umpire. Dhawan tries to smash the free hit over mid-on, but miscues it up in the air to the field, and only profits by one run. Gill works a straighter ball through midwicket for four, so Hazlewood reverts to a Test-match line and length to the right-hander, just outside his off stump, and Gill completes the picture by leaving alone three times in a row.
4th over: India 18-0 (Dhawan 14, Gill 2) Oh, what’s going here Maxi? It’s a good over, apart from the wides and the ball down leg side that gets swept for four. Dhawan is doing all the scoring. The over costs nine.
3rd over: India 9-0 (Dhawan 7, Gill 2) Better from Dhawan this over, leaning into a cover drive against Hazlewood along the ground for four. Emboldened, the batsman tries to advance, but Hazlewood bowls a bouncer that has him flinching out of the way. Good contest. Dhawan follows up with a big-swinging cut shot that takes a thick bottom edge into the pitch, just enough of an edge to stop it spinning back towards his stumps. He guides a single more circumspectly next ball.
2nd over: India 4-0 (Dhawan 2, Gill 2) Hello, what’s this? A special treat, since we won’t see Glenn Maxwell bat for a number of hours: we’ll see him bowl. Starting off the day with the ball, with Australia’s balance shifting to spin away from pace. He does it nicely too, landing the off-breaks and conceding four singles with the field up, including a Dhawan miscue into a gap at cover that could have been a catch. The batsman trying an aggressive shot but done in by the loop on the ball.
1st over: India 0-0 (Dhawan 0, Gill 0) Josh Hazlewood starts the day with an opening bowler’s perfection. Six balls angled slightly across the left-hander, who decides on discretion and doesn’t attempt a scoring stroke.
Jack Faine has dropped me an email with an interesting question.
“Seeing that Cameron Green is debuting for the Aussies and there has been much hype around his 2-metre stature, I’m wondering whether (and this is presuming he bats top 7) he might be the tallest batsman or allrounder to play for Australia? Matthew Hayden comes in at around 6ft 1 (a comparatively miniature 1.88m). Matthew Elliot was also tall but not that tall (and I don’t think he wore the ODI pyjamas all that much, if at all). I’m left scratching my brain for other towering top 7 bats? Of course, test nightwatchmen would have to be excluded from any consideration of this issue (but even J Gillespie is a few centimetres shorter than C Green according to Wikipedia).”
India
Shikhar Dhawan
Shubman Gill
Virat Kohli *
Shreyas Iyer
KL Rahul +
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
Shardul Thakur
Kuldeep Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah
T Natarajan
Australia
Aaron Finch *
Marnus Labuschagne
Steven Smith
Glenn Maxwell
Moises Henriques
Alex Carey +
Cameron Green
Ashton Agar
Sean Abbott
Adam Zampa
Josh Hazlewood
Kohli gets the coin to land his way! After two losses in Sydney that ended up hurting badly, he’ll have the chance to turn the tables. India will bat, the captain saying that it looks like a good surface. I’ll say.
A fun game of guess-the-team going on in the press box.
Here are the factors. David Warner is missing with an injury. So Australia need an opener. There are suggestions that Marnus Labuschagne might fill that spot by coming up the order. Cameron Green is going to debut, presumably down the order at six or so. Mitchell Starc is missing with a slight side strain, and Pat Cummins is being rested. So that probably means that Sean Abbott coming in, and I saw Ashton Agar warming up so it means they’ll have two spinners operating today in concert with Zampa.
My email is in the sidebar. So is my Twitter. My wallet’s in the car. If you feel so moved, let me know what has moved you.
Welcome to our nation’s capital, home of the shallowest lake in the world. That wasn’t intended to be a veiled reference to our political representatives, but you can make up your own mind. Mt Ainslie rises in the distance, the duck-foot light towers lean over the ground, and Manuka Oval is ready to roll. The third and final one-day international between Australia and India, with the visiting team down 2-0 after a couple of monster totals were run up by the home side at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Will a change of venue mean a change of fortune?
Lots of changes across both teams today, I can see two cap presentations going on out on the ground among the circles. Steve Smith presented one, Ravi Shastri the other. Details shortly.
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