We didn’t play our best cricket, good enough to get over the line, says Australian skipper Steve Smith; Rohit Sharma calls defeat a collective failure
Our Bureau
Chennai (TN)
A new World No.1 team has been crowned in the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings after Australia defeated India by 21 runs in the final ODI in Chennai on Thursday.
Australia is the new team at the top of the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings after their thrilling win over India in Chennai. The 21-run win takes Australia marginally ahead of India at the top, with the visitors racking up 113.286 rating points compared to the Men in Blue’s 112.638. Before the start of the final ODI, India was on top with 114 rating points to Australia’s 112.
After a cakewalk in Visakhapatnam, Australia was made to work hard for their victory but managed to edge past Rohit Sharma’s men to claim the series 2-1. With this win, Australia clinched the three-match ODI series by 2-1 This is India’s first series defeat at home since 2019. They had previously lost to Australia as well 3-2 in an ODI series back in March 2019.
Virat Kohli’s half-century went in vain as Adam Zampa’s four-wicket haul and all-round team efforts helped Australia defeat India by 21 runs in the third and last match of the ODI series here at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday. “It has been an enjoyable tour. We did not play our best cricket, good enough to get over the line. This wicket was entirely different, we left a few out there with the bat. The spinners bowled beautifully, really good performance. It was a real grind in the field. The way the tail stuck and got us to 269, got us to a nice total,” said Steve Smith in a post-match presentation.
After electing to bat first, Australia was bundled out for 269 runs in 49 overs. Openers Travis Head (33) and Mitchell Marsh (47) started off the innings well with a 68-run partnership. But all-rounder Hardik Pandya swung the tide in India’s favour, dismissing both the openers and Steve Smith (0) to reduce visitors to 85/3.
David Warner (23) and Marnus Labuschagne (28) failed to score big. Half of the Aussie lineup was back in the hut for 138 runs.
Following this, wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey (38) and Marcus Stoinis (25) stitched a 58-run stand for the sixth wicket, which was broken by Axar Patel.
Sean Abbott (26) and Ashton Agar (17) put on 42 runs for the eighth wicket and this pushed Australia to 269.
Hardik Pandya (3/44) and Kuldeep Yadav (3/56) were impressive with the ball and provided timely breakthroughs. Mohammed Siraj (2/37) and Axar Patel (2/57) also performed well.
In the chase of 270, India was off to a solid start, with openers Rohit Sharma (30) and Shubman Gill (37) playing some aggressive shots and putting on 65 runs for the first wicket. Following the departure of openers and the score being 77/2, Virat Kohli (54) and KL Rahul (32) put a stand of 69 runs for the third wicket.
Virat got out after playing a rash shot, reducing the hosts to 185/5. After this, India continued to lose wickets regularly and despite Hardik Pandya’s knock of 40 runs, they fell 21 runs short of a win.
Zampa was named as the ‘Player of the Match’ for his match-winning spell.
Marsh was named the ‘Man of the Series’ for scoring 194 runs in three innings at an average of 97.00, with the best score of 81 and two half-centuries.
It is just natural aggression: Marsh
Following his side’s 21-run win over India in the third ODI, Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh said there is some natural aggression in his batting which he enjoys.
“It is just natural aggression when I am batting. Growing up at the WACA (Western Australian Cricket Association) I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I was really glad that I could come in and perform. I am coming off an extended break. Sometimes in international cricket, you need time to do that. I have come fresh, and provided energy,” said Marsh in a post-match presentation.
Rohit Sharma blames entire team
Following his side’s 21-run loss against Australia in the third ODI, India skipper Rohit Sharma termed the defeat as a “collective failure”.
“I do not think it was too many runs. We did not bat well. Partnerships are crucial and that is something we failed to do today. You are brought up playing in these type of wickets, it is important you apply. After the start, it was important for one batter to carry on and take the game deep. It just did not happen. A lot of takeaways. We can take a lot of positives from the nine ODIs since January. We need to understand where we need to improve. It is a collective failure, we can take a lot of learnings from this series. Credit to the Australians. Both the spinners applied the pressure and so did their seamers,” said Rohit in a post-match presentation.
After electing to bat first, Australia was bundled out for 269 runs in 49 overs. Openers Travis Head (33) and Mitchell Marsh (47) started off the innings well with a 68-run partnership. But all-rounder Hardik Pandya swung the tide in India’s favour, dismissing both the openers and Steve Smith (0) to reduce visitors to 85/3.
India will play Asia cup matches at neutral venues
The Asia Cup 2023 is likely to be held in Pakistan, with another overseas venue to host India games. After a brief stalemate, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are working quickly to broker a compromise that could result in both teams playing their tournament matches against one another outside of Pakistan. India is likely to play their Asia Cup 2023 matches in England, Oman, Sri Lanka or UAE.
“A meeting between the boards had been done a few days back and the tournament will be allowed to be held in Pakistan. India will play their matches at a neutral venue and will not travel to Pakistan, the venues where India could play their matches are likely to be Oman, UAE, England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Though the decision will be decided later,” a source told ANI.
The foreign location is still to be determined, although the UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka, and possibly England are viable candidates to host India’s matches, including at least two matches between India and Pakistan. The neutral venue is not confirmed but the UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka and even England are potential contenders. If India book their place in the Asia Cup final, the summit clash will take place at a neutral venue.
The six-nation Asia Cup, which will be played in a 50-over format in the first part of September this year, has grouped India and Pakistan together with a qualifier. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are part of the other group.
The final will be one of a total of 13 games that are played over the course of 13 days. The top two teams from each group proceed to the Super 4s, where the top two teams compete in the final, according to the 2022 Asia Cup format.
After the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Bahrain in mid-March ended without a resolution, members converged for two further rounds of informal discussions in Dubai.
The BCCI team included Arun Dhumal, the head of the IPL governing council, and the BCCI secretary Jay Shah. The PCB, which will host the 2023 Asia Cup, was represented by its chair Najam Sethi.
Last October, the PCB was caught off guard by Jay Shah, who stated that the 2023 Asia Cup would be held in a “neutral” venue. The PCB, under the then chairman Ramiz Raja, promptly responded that Pakistan will withdraw from the competition if it was taken outside of the nation.
The proposal for the Asia Cup to be co-hosted by a neutral country was presented and considered at the official ACC meeting.
Last year, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairperson Jay Shah had stated that India will not travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup due to security reasons and the tournament will be played at some neutral venue, which is to be decided in the second round of the Executive Board meeting of ACC members this month.
