India vs Australia 2019: Marcus Stoinis Unlikely to be Fit for Decider

Australia’s talisman all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is unlikely to be fit for the decider of the five-match series against India. Stoinis had suffered a thumb injury in the third ODI at Ranchi while fielding. Thus, the talisman all-rounder had gone on to miss the fourth ODI at Mohali, which Australia won by four wickets. Stoinis was replaced by Western Australian batsman Ashton Turner, who played a blistering knock of 84 runs.

Meanwhile, Australia’s batsman Peter Handscomb said they are not going take the risk of playing with Stoinis. The bottom hand thumb is injured which makes it more difficult for Stoinis to hold the bat.

Stoinis unlikely to be fit for the decider.

On the other hand, Marcus Stoinis has been in good form as he scored a fighting 52 in the second ODI at Nagpur. However, he failed to take his team over the line as they lost by eight runs. Stoinis left too many to get in the final two overs.

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“He’ll look to play at some stage but it’s just pain management with him,” Handscomb said while talking in the post-match press conference.

“When it’s your bottom-hand thumb it makes it hard to hold the bat.

“We’ve just got to wait and see with him.”

On the other hand, Australian skipper Aaron Finch had shed light on the role of all-rounder before the tour of India. Stoinis provides the balance to the team as he can contribute with both bat as well as the ball.

“To have someone as flexible as that is a great asset to any team because then you can build a team around them and they can almost fill any hole you need,” Finch said of Stoinis earlier in the tour.

“It provides so much of a chop-out for other guys.

“We’ve seen that with India when Hardik Pandya is fit it makes the balance of the team so much better. Same with Ben Stokes for England.”

Meanwhile, Australia made a solid comeback into the series as they have won their last two games to keep the series alive. The visitors were able to chase down the gargantuan target of 359 runs which is their highest chase in the ODI history.

The decider of the series will take place in Delhi on 13th March.