Starc leads Australia's demolition of India in 2nd ODI to level series

Mitchell Starc led an Australian fast-bowling demolition of India as the visitors won the second ODI by 10 wickets to level the three-match series on Sunday.

Starc took 5-53 in eight overs, his ninth ODI five-wicket haul, as India was bowled out for 117 runs in 26 overs. Sean Abbott took 3-23 in six overs while Nathan Ellis picked up 2-13 in five.

In reply, openers Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh smacked Indian bowling to all parts of the ground as Australia won in a canter.

It scored 121 runs in 11 overs to completely dominate the game, with Marsh hitting 66 not out off 36 balls.

It was India’s heaviest ODI defeat in terms of balls remaining as Australia won with 39 overs (234 balls) to spare. The three-match series is now level 1-1, after India won the first ODI in Mumbai by five wickets.

Put in to bat in bowling friendly conditions, India made a poor start. Shubman Gill was out caught for a duck in Starc’s first over.

Rohit Sharma (13) and Virat Kohli added 29 runs for the second wicket, the most for an Indian pair on the day before the collapse began in earnest.

Starc had Sharma caught at slip in the fifth over, and then trapped Suryakumar Yadav lbw for a golden duck.

He also trapped Lokesh Rahul for nine runs leaving India down to 48-4. In the next over, Abbott removed Hardik Pandya for one run with the score reading 49-5 in 9.2 overs.

Kohli top-scored with 31 runs off 35 balls and added 22 runs with Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 16 off 39 balls.

That slowed the fall of wickets as India crossed the 50-run mark. However, any chance of an Indian revival was negated when Ellis trapped Kohli lbw in the 16th over.

Jadeja added another 20 runs with Axar Patel to edge closer to the 100-run mark, before falling to Ellis.

Abbott helped mop up the tail, while Starc returned to complete his fiver, bowling Mohammed Siraj for a duck.

In between, Patel smacked two sixes to help India past 100, albeit that didn’t spare the hosts' embarrassment. He scored 29 not out off 29 balls, including a four and two sixes even as India was bowled out for its lowest total against Australia at home. Its previous lowest score was 148 at Vadodara in 2007.

It was Starc’s ninth five-wicket haul in 109 ODI innings, the joint-most for an Australia bowler along with Brett Lee (217 innings). He is also joint-third with Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) on the all-time five-for list, with only Pakistan’s Waqar Younis (13) and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (10) ahead of him.

He was named player of the match for his efforts.

"My rhythm has been good of late. I bowled a little fuller than other guys. Both the pitches in this series have helped seamers. My role is to attack the stumps and bring every form of dismissal into play,” he said.

In reply, Australia wasted little time in finishing things off. It raced to the finish line in just 11 overs as India gave up any hope of a fight back.

Marsh continued his Mumbai form, smashing six sixes and six fours. He reached his half-century off 28 balls.

At the other end, Head hit 10 fours to reach 50 off 29 balls, finishing unbeaten on 51 runs off 30 balls.

Their 100-run stand came off only 53 balls as the Sunday crowd was forced to endure a lop-sided game resulting in a dominant Australian win.

The third ODI will be played in Chennai on Wednesday.

Associated Press