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Australia v India

Australia v India ODI series: Australia marks out of 10

Australia v India
by Sankalp Srivastava 6 minute read

As the Australia v India ODI series comes to an end, we rate the performances of the hosts, who emerged victorious from the series with a 2-1 scoreline.

The Australia side, under the leadership of captain Aaron Finch, were ruthless in the first two ODIs, sealing off the series with two practically identical wins. Though they lost the Canberra ODI, it won’t take any shine off their performances.

With a three-T20I series and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy coming up next, they’ll want to maintain that level of dominance. Here’s how each of the Australian players fared in the ODI series against India.

Mitchell Starc – 3

Starc’s ODI series started on the wrong note as he went for 20 off his first over, taking 11 deliveries to finish the over, and he couldn’t quite recover from it. He was replaced by Sean Abbott for the third ODI to bring an end to a disappointing 2020 for him in ODIs – just 12 wickets in 11 matches at 54.25. Mohammed Shami was the only player he dismissed in the series.

Sean Abbott – 4

Included in Starc’s stead for the final ODI, Abbott started strongly by dismissing Shikhar Dhawan first up and conceded just 16 from his first four overs. But with Pandya and Jadeja turning on the heat in the latter half of India’s innings, he eventually ended up leaking 83 from his quota of 10 overs.

Marcus Stoinis – 6

It’s tough to rate Stoinis for his performance in the ODI series – 38 deliveries bowled and one delivery faced. But his spell in the first ODI was a crucial one, stopping the flow of runs especially when the likes of Starc and Cummins were going for plenty. A low grade side strain brought an abrupt end to his series.

Alex Carey – 6

Carey didn’t quite get the opportunity to carry on his ODI form from the England series earlier this year in the Sydney ODIs. While he got to face just 13 deliveries in the first one, coming out in the middle in the 46th over, he didn’t get to bat at all in the second. But he managed an extended stay in the middle in the third match, scoring a 42-ball-38 before being undone by a run out.

Pat Cummins – 6

Even though he went wicketless in the first match, Cummins played a crucial role in ensuring that India did not run off with the chase after coming in at first change following an explosive start by the Agarwal-Dhawan pair. He almost spoiled Hazlewood’s perfect Kohli record but for Adam Zampa, who dropped the India captain at fine leg. After a three-for in the second ODI as Australia sealed the series, Cummins was then rested for the remaining limited-overs matches of the tour in order to be kept fresh for the upcoming Test series.

Cameron Green – 6

Green, the highly-rated all-rounder, was handed his ODI debut in the third match of the series. He showed glimpses of his prowess with the bat in a 21-run knock. He was unlucky with the ball though as he had to face an in-form Virat Kohli first up, who hit Green for consecutive boundaries in his very first international over.

Marnus Labuschagne – 6

A mixed bag for Labuschagne. Used as a floater, he batted at three different positions in the batting order in as many matches. His best came while batting at four in the second ODI – 70 off 61 – which seems to be his best spot as far as ODIs are concerned.

Ashton Agar – 7

Agar was handed a spot in the Australia playing XI for the third ODI and contributed with both bat and ball – the crucial wickets of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill to go with run-a-ball 28. But he failed to see Australia through in the chase as the hosts fell just short of completing a whitewash.

Moises Henriques – 7

Included in the playing XI for second ODI after Stoinis picked up a side injury, Henriques replicated Stoinis’s contribution in the first match,  returning figures of 1-34 from seven overs and faced just one delivery, scoring two off it. But the highlight was the stunner he grabbed to dismiss Kohli. Not used as much with the ball in the third ODI, Henriques was promoted up the order, scoring 22 from number four.

David Warner – 8

Warner looked in superb touch in the two matches that he played, piling up 69 and 83 runs respectively but a century eluded him.. His series came to a halt due to an injury as well – a groin issue has now put him in a race against time to regain fitness ahead of the Test series.

Glenn Maxwell – 8

Maxwell moved on from a dismal IPL 2020 in style, scoring two half-centuries along with an explosive 19-ball-45. The fifth-highest run-scorer of the series, the all-rounder’s runs came at a strike-rate of 196.47 while his off-spin came in handy for Australia, too. An in-form Maxwell will be a tough nut to crack for India in the upcoming T20I series. His detractors may argue that after putting his side in a match-winning position in the final ODI, he ought to have seen them home.

Josh Hazlewood – 9

Hazlewood was all over Virat Kohli in the ODI series, dismissing the India captain in all three matches. In trademark fashion, his steeply rising short balls troubled Kohli and his teammates and he was relatively tougher to score against. Hazlewood was also the most economical of quicks who bowled in all three matches.

Adam Zampa – 9

The leg-spinner was the most successful bowler in the series, taking seven wickets in total – four of which came in the first ODI as he punctured the Indian chase, dismissing both of India’s top run-getters in the match – Dhawan and Pandya – along with Rahul and Jadeja. His dismissal of Rahul in the second ODI all but sealed the series for Australia. Zampa’s economy of 5.36 was the best among bowlers from both the sides who played all three matches.

Aaron Finch – 9

The Australia captain led from the front; he started with a hundred and followed it up with two fifty-plus scores to finish as the top run-getter of the series. The starts that he provided along with Warner laid the foundation for Australian wins in the first two ODIs and allowed their middle order to flourish and play with freedom in the latter half of the innings.

Steven Smith – 9

Steve Smith wasn’t kidding about having “found his hands” ahead of the series. His back-to-back 62-ball hundreds were the highlight of the series, and it was his knocks in the first two ODIs that completely took the series away from India. Though his golden run came to a halt in the third match, the signs look ominous for India with the T20Is and Tests coming up next.

 

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