David Warner’s fifth One-Day International (ODI) century and a maiden ton from Mitchell Marsh helped Australia pile on a commanding 330 for 7 against India in the fifth ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). India put in perhaps their best bowling performance of the series but were thwarted by two top quality innings from Warner and Marsh respectively. India’s debutant Jasprit Bumrah bowled wonderfully but Umesh Yadav had a nightmarish day in the field. Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja bowled well but Rishi Dhawan and Gurkeerat Singh were expensive. As a result for every good bowler on display for India there was a corresponding poor one, which was fully evidenced by the scorecard. Live Cricket Scorecard: India vs Australia 2015-16, 5th ODI at Sydney
India got off to an ideal start when Ishant managed to take out Aaron Finch in the first over of the match. Finch hit a straight boundary over Ishant’s head off the fourth ball of the match but was out LBW off the sixth. Replays suggested that Finch was unlucky as the ball would have missed the stumps, but by shouldering arms to one that came in Finch did himself no favours. Having struck early, India looked like a different bowling unit. That Umesh was having an off day was seen in his first spell, where he bowled 4 overs for 28. It was quite economical compared to what followed; Umesh finished with 1 for 82 off 8 overs. Live Cricket Blog: India vs Australia 2015-16, 5th ODI at Sydney
Steven Smith looked a bit out of sorts with a scratchy 28 off 37 balls. He was dismissed mis-hitting a pull shot to Rohit Sharma off Bumrah. The young right-hand pace bowler was by far the most impressive bowler on the day. He bowled at good pace and hurried both Warner and Smith, repeatedly going past the edge. He was accurate and kept the ball in the right areas throughout. It was his persistent line and length that earned him his maiden ODI wicket, that of India’s perpetual thorn in the flesh, Smith. He returned to bowl well at the death too, knocking over the dangerous James Faulkner with a pinpoint yorker. He capped off his international debut with excellent figures of 2 for 40 in 10 overs. READ: Gurkeerat Singh, Rishi Dhawan to replace Ajinkya Rahane, Bhuvneshwar Kumar respectively in India vs Australia T20I series
George Bailey soon followed his captain to the hut, a leading edge off the innocuous Rishi finding its way to Ishant. Rishi started well but ended up being a bit too expensive, finishing with 1 for 74 off his 10 overs. Jadeja, on the other hand, again went wicketless but was once again economical. His 10 overs cost just 46 runs. Shaun Marsh, playing in place of the injured Glenn Maxwell, ended up getting run out in slightly unlucky fashion. Rishi did not collect Umesh’s throw from the deep cleanly, but the ball went out of his hands and ricocheted off his leg onto the stumps with the older Marsh well short of the crease. VIDEO: Shaun Marsh run out in comical fashion in India vs Australia 2015-16, 5th ODI at SCG
That brought in the younger Marsh, Mitchell. The all-rounder has not been in particularly impressive form in this series, but he went about setting the record straight this time. Marsh showed just why he is so highly rated by the Australian media, getting to a maiden ODI hundred off 81 balls in the final over of the innings. His knock included nine fours and two sixes, and guided Australia to a huge total. India will be hoping to exorcise the demons of Canberra by chasing down the 331-run target set by Australia.
Brief scores:
Australia 330 for 7 in 50 overs (David Warner 122, Mitchell Marsh 102*; Ishant Sharma 2 for 60, Jasprit Bumrah 2 for 40) vs India.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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