3 Indian Players Who Failed In Second ODI vs Australia

Riding on the back of a terrific spell from Mitchell Starc, Australia hammered Team India for 10 wickets in the second ODI at Vishakhapatnam on Sunday March 19 to level the series.

There were hardly any notable performances for the Men in Blue. Virat Kohli and Axar Patel were the only batsmen to cross the 25-run mark, while the latter was the only bowler to have an economy rate below 9.5. Several local players had miserable performances.

Here are three Indian players who flopped in the second ODI against Australia.

#3 Rohit Sharma

The captain must take some responsibility for such a chaotic performance. Rohit Sharma took the reins for the second ODI after missing his first, but oversaw a terrible defeat that started with misfires of the first order.

Mitchell Starc was always going to fool the Indian captain with a mix of inswingers and outswingers. Rohit survived 15 balls, which was the second-highest number in the top six, but eventually chased down one that was well outside to cut.

Just the previous ball, the starter had left one that was angled through him all by himself. Rohit’s dismissal left the Men in Blue at a point of discomfort and also exposed Suryakumar Yadav to a rampaging Starc.

#2 Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill has secured his place in India’s ODI side, but his dismissals in this series have been unbecoming of a batsman of his caliber.

Gill has been dismissed in almost identical fashion by Starc in both ODIs, catching spoons for marnus labuschagne on point back after chasing the full and wide without any foot movement. The starter has not been able to get close to the ball and has hit his drives high.

Gill going out like this at Vishakhapatnam was made worse because it was in the first over that he was acutely aware of the threat posed by the Australian left-arm pacer. The youngster needs to step up and weather the spell of the new ball before attempting any loose shots in the decider.

#1 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya handed over his captaincy to Rohit as the usual Indian skipper returned, and he too seemed to have lost his golden touch. The all-rounder made virtually no contribution with either bat or ball in the second ODI.

Hardik came on to bat on the score 48/4 and desperately needed to play some sensible cricket. But he’s generally not the guy you want in the middle when the ball is moving. The right-hander carelessly fished on an outside to skirt the ball off the first slide, where Steve Smith he covered ground with a terrific dive and ripped out a one-handed stunner.

The Men in Blue fell to 49/5 inside the power play as Hardik couldn’t last more than three balls. He had a chance to redeem himself slightly with the ball, but his only over cost him 18 runs as mitchell swamp he crushed him by three huge sixes.

It was a disappointing outing for the versatile star.