The Indian team suffered a humiliating defeat in the second ODI against Australia as the visitors chased the target successfully in just 11 overs and defeated India by 10 wickets. The hero of Australia’s win was the left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc who dismissed five Indian batters including both the openers – Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Mitchell Starc also sent Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul back to pavilion and then he also dismissed the tailender Mohammed Siraj.
This is not the first time that the Indian batters have fumbled against the left-arm pacers. Earlier in the Champions Trophy 2017,it was Mohammad Amir who bowled a great spell, in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup, it was Trent Boult who ripped apart the Indian top-order.
Recently, the former Pakistani left-arm pacer Wasim Akram shed his opinion on the failure of Indian batters against Mitchell Starc. He says that there is no doubt Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are great players, in fact it was Rahul who won the first ODI for India. Wasim Akram further says that it is not just these Indian batters who get trapped in the angle of left-arm pacers, many others also get trapped especially when the ball is coming in. Talking about the pitch, he said that he felt as if he was watching the match in Australia.
Wasim Akram adds that Australia played better cricket in the small match and now the series is shaping up well as it is leveled at 1-1. He said that he thought the ball was seaming on that wicket and though the Aussies finished the match quickly yet he saw Mohammed Siraj’s bowling and the ball was seaming both sides.
Wasim Akram further says that though nowadays he doesn’t follow the Indian cricket much yet India has some great players who know how to adapt to the situation. The former Pakistani skipper also praised Mitchell Starc for his bowling as he called him a great bowler and one of the best of the present times. He says that there are some days which belong to the bowlers and it was Michell Starc’s day.
Now both the teams will clash against each other in the third and the final ODI of the series on 22nd March 2023.
