IND vs AUS: Steve Smith grabs absolute stunner to send Hardik Pandya back
Smith's acrobatics dismissed Pandya to reduce India to 51/5 after the first powerplay.
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As Mitchell Starc took off to a flying start in the second ODI, he was soon joined by Sean Abbott who activated his wicket tally by dismissing Hardik Pandya for just 1 run. However, as much as the credit goes to Abbott for deceiving Pandya with the line, a massive chunk of it is deserved by stand-in skipper Steve Smith as well who pulled off an absolute stunner at the slips to end Pandya's short stay.
Abbott's 'outside the off stump' delivery was misjudged by Hardik Pandya who while attempting to play a defensive shot, ended up edging it towards the second slip. Although the ball's trajectory was far from Smith's position, the 33-year-old pounced on it with a superman dive, stretching himself to his right and finally grabbing the ball to dismiss Pandya.
With Starc leading from the front, the Australian bowlers rattled the Indian top order for yet another time after the hosts were asked to bat first by Australia, after winning the toss. Shubman Gill who was otherwise having a good year failed to score a run and became the first Indian wicket to fall on Sunday. Skipper Rohit Sharma then put up a brief 29-run partnership for the second wicket with Virat Kohli but that was all as following that, Starc started to unleash himself on the Indian batters, picking up wickets without a break to destroy the powerplay for India.
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0India's top order collapse as Mitchell Starc wreaks havoc
India continued with their dismal tryst with the top order in the second ODI as well as half of the team was sent back to the pavilion within the first ten overs when India was still trying to find its way out of the whirlpool. India were reduced to a pitiful 51/5 after the first powerplay with all the recognized batters, barring Virat Kohli, returning back to the dressing room after a brief stint each in the middle.
Starting under the cloudy Vizag sky, premier Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc exhaled fire as he sequentially dismissed India's first four wickets with just 48 runs on the board. Flamboyant batter and talk of the town Suryakumar Yadav was trapped lbw as the 32-year-old got out on a duck for the second consecutive time.
Barring Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharm, no other recognized batter managed to score in double digits. While Virat Kohli breathed soul into the Indian innings with 31 runs, Rohit Sharma managed to score 13 with the help of two boundaries. This is for the second time in the ongoing ODI-series that the Indian top order has failed to deliver.
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