When India and Australia square off in the second ODI on Sunday in Visakhapatnam, Rohit Sharma, the team’s regular captain, will take the helm after missing the first match in Mumbai. The focus will once again be on KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja.
In a low-scoring match at the Wankhede Stadium, India defeated Australia by five wickets. Rahul, who had been benched for the third and fourth Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series due to his poor performance during that series, patiently scored an unbeaten 75 as the hosts cruised to victory.
Jadeja scored an unbeaten 45 in the case of 188 on Friday, his first ODI appearance in nearly eight months due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery. He also bowled a tight spell and finished with figures of 2/46, earning him the title of ‘Player of the Match’.
With India hosting the ODI World Cup later this year, an in-form Rahul and a fully-fit Jadeja will be valuable assets, and the three-match series will help selectors assess the duo’s progress.
India would try to secure a 2-0 series lead and make up for their mistakes with the bat, which left them in a precarious position at 4/39 and later at 5/83 before Rahul and Jadeja joined forces at the wicket to lead the hosts to victory with 61 balls remaining.
The top order, which crumbled under Mitchell Starc’s pace and variations, will undoubtedly gain stability with Rohit Sharma’s return to captaincy responsibilities.
Marcus Stoinis made an early impact by dismissing Ishan Kishan for three runs, but the lanky left-arm pacer’s three-wicket burst put India under a lot of pressure as Virat Kohli (4), Suryakumar Yadav (0), and Shubman Gill (20) all left the pitch in quick succession.
With attention on making preparations for the World Cup in October-November, Indian batters have occasionally appeared hesitant against quality left-arm pacers. Facing Starc in the final two games should provide them with useful practice at home.
With Sharma set to start, Kishan will most likely be replaced by the regular captain.
While Kohli and Gill’s below-par scores in the first ODI should not be taken too seriously, Suryakumar Yadav’s inability to find his mojo in the 50-over format is cause for concern.
Suryakumar, a T20I batting marauder, is still finding his feet in ODIs. He has failed to score a fifty in all five One-Day Internationals this year. Surya has now played 15 One-Day Internationals (13 innings) without a score exceeding 50.
During the series, Australia intends to try out various combinations. They went in on Friday with four all-rounders (Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, and Glenn Maxwell) and still couldn’t trouble India much, which would be a concern for captain Steve Smith.
Sean Abbott’s tight lines kept the Indians at bay, while Green and Stoinis chipped in as well.
