VISHAKAPATNAM: Mitchell Starc’s 53-5 and a blazing 66 runs by Mitchell Marsh helped Australia demolish India by ten wickets in the second one-day international (ODI) to level the series at 1-1 here on Sunday.
Mitchel Starc, a left-arm quick, rattled the Indian batting with his pace and swung to bundle out India for 117 runs in 26 overs in Visakhapatnam.
Openers Travis Head (51-run) and Marsh, who smashed six huge sixes in his 36-ball blitz, then smashed the Indian bowling to achieve the target in only 11 overs and level the three-match ODI series with one game left.
Australia finished the run chase with 39 overs to spare and recovered from their opening loss.
Starc led the team’s attack with Shubman Gill’s wicket for a duck after the Kangaroos decided to bowl first after overnight rain.
Wickets kept tumbling for India
Two successive strikes from Mitchell Starc to get returning skipper Rohit Sharma for 13-run and then Suryakumar Yadav out for a duck forced India onto the back foot.
KL Rahul faced and played out the hat-trick ball but lasted for 11 more deliveries before falling leg-before wicket to Starc, who returned figures of 31-4 in his first spell of six overs.
Skipper Steve Smith took an amazing one-handed catch at slip to dismiss Hardik Pandya for just one off the bowling of pacer Sean Abbott, who claimed three wickets.
Smith took the catch off an edge from Pandya, setting social media abuzz with an appreciation for his “superman” effort.
Virat Kohli tried to hit back for India with a score of 31-run that included four boundaries before was trapped in front by Nathan Ellis.
Wickets kept tumbling for India, and the departure of Ravindra Jadeja for 16 runs off the bowling of Ellis added to India’s troubles.
Starc wrapped up the Indian innings with his ninth ODI five-wicket haul. Axar Patel came into the team in place of Shardul Thakur and was unbeaten on 29 after hitting two sixes.
The left-handed Head and Marsh fired as they smashed Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj to all parts of the ground.
Head began the attack with two consecutive boundaries off Siraj, and Mitchel Marsh soon joined the charge with a string of sixes and fours.
Marsh, who hit 81 runs in his team’s opening loss, hit two consecutive sixes off Pandya to reach fifty off just 28 balls.
Head soon raised his fifty, and Mitchell Marsh hit the winning boundary to take the ODI series decider to Chennai on Wednesday.
