Sensational Starc and mighty Marsh lead the way as Australians sweep India
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A masterclass from Mitchell Starc and a T20-style shot from Mitchell Marsh propelled Australia to a crushing 10-wicket ODI victory over India in a match that lasted just 37 overs.
Starc claimed 5-53 from eight overs in Sunday’s clash at Vizag to help India win a meager 117 from 26 overs.
In response, Marsh hit six sixes and six fours on the way to posting 66 points on 36 balls, with Travis Head (51 points on 30 balls) a handy ally.
Australia achieved the goal of victory in just 11 overs.
The result ties the three-game series at 1-1 ahead of Wednesday’s final in Chennai.
Mitchell Starc of Australia celebrates the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav of India. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
Marsh only opened in the first two games due to the absence of David Warner, who missed the first game to give him more time to recover from a hairline fracture in his elbow.
Warner was scheduled to play on Sunday, but a clogged quad kept him out.
Marsh scored 81 from 65 in Friday’s five-wicket loss to India, and he continued to bludgeon India’s attack in Game 2.
His hot form as a substitute fly-half has given Australia food for thought ahead of this year’s World Cup in India.
The highlight of Sunday’s match belonged to Steve Smith, who dove full length to his right on the first slide to pull off a superb one-handed grab to send Hardik Pandya packing for one.
Smith was airborne and level when he took the hold, and the substitute skipper was mobbed by his teammates in stride.
Although Marsh and Head provided the fireworks with the bat, it was Starc who engineered the victory with a searing display.
The left arm started the destruction in the opening by tempting Shubman Gill (0) into a loose shot, with Marnus Labuschagne gobbling up the hold at the back point.
Smith gave Starc his second wicket with a juggling effort to fire Rohit Sharma for 13.
And when Suryakumar Yadav was fired lbw by Starc for a golden duck for the second straight game, the Aussie pace ace was on a hat-trick.
KL Rahul blocked the hat-trick ball but was trapped in front by Starc shortly after, reducing India to 4-48.
Smith’s slide stunner – from Sean Abbott’s bowling – made it 5-49, and Nathan Ellis trapped the precious scalps of Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja (16) as India crashed at 7-91 in the 20th.
Starc was knocked out for six straight by Axar Patel when he returned for another spell, but ended the innings beating Mohammed Siraj.
Only Waqar Younis (13) and Muttiah Muralitharan (10) have more five-wicket runs in ODI cricket than Starc’s nine.
“We saw a Mitch clinic there today, as we’ve seen before,” Abbott said of Starc’s heroics.
Abbott (3-23) and Nathan Ellis (2-13) produced handy cameos.
Virat Kohli (31) scored for his team, with Patel (29no) the only other batter to fight.
It was India’s third-lowest ODI total against Australia, behind 63 at SCG in 1981 and 100 also at Sydney in 2000.
It was also India’s fourth lowest ODI total in India against all comers.
© AAP
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