India’s death-overs bowling stifles Oz, proves to be game-changer
Indore:australia finally got off to a great start from which they could dictate the course of the match on Sunday. After 40 overs, they were 234/2 and looked good for a score in excess of 330 on a flat Holkar Stadium wicket.
However, India’s death bowling delivered a game-changing performance. The last 10 overs yielded only 59 runs and made a huge difference.
In the previous two ODIS, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav had tied down Australia with their variations. In such a situation, bowling Chahal at the death could have been a risky option for Virat Kohli. However, it proved to be decisive.
Prior to the 40th over, Jasprit Bumrah had conceded just two runs, with Glenn Maxwell struggling. In the 41st over, Chahal gave away only two runs. Eight dot balls in two overs put the pressure on Australia.
The first to go was Smith in the 42nd over. In the quest for quick runs, Smith miscued a lofted shot off Kuldeep to be caught at long off. Having lost Finch a cou- ple of overs before, losing a wellsettled Smith for 63 resulted in loss of momentum. In the 43rd over, Chahal snapped up Maxwell. The right-hander’s tally of five from 13 balls meant the game had turned in India’s favour.
With Smith, Maxwell back in the pavilion, Australia’s struggles mounted. A combination of dot-ball pressure and discipline from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Bumrah proved to be the key.
After Bhuvneshwar gave away just four runs in the 45th over, Bumrah snapped up the wicket of the in-form Travis Head. With only four runs conceded, India were on top. Bumrah struck again in the 48th over when he had Peter Handscomb caught at long off for 3 with Manish Pandey taking a good catch.