India vs Australia 2nd ODI: Harbhajan Singh Feels Vijay Shankar Has Booked His World Cup Spot

Team India all-rounder Vijay Shankar held his nerves as he delivered a terrific final over to clinch a 8 runs victory for India in the 2^nd ODI against Australia in Nagpur today. It was a gamble giving the ball to Vijay Shankar given the act that he gave away 13 runs in the only over he bowled during the day.  Former Team India spinner Harbhajan Singh hailed Shankar for his performance. He further predicted that Shankar has booked his ticket for the 2019 World Cup slated to be played in England and Wales from May.

“Vijay Shankar ki ticket for World Cup is confirmed @vijayshankar260,” Harbhajan wrote on his Twitter handle. It was definitely a gamble but it paid off. Virat Kohli in the post-match presentation said that it was a ploy which he discussed with Rohit and MS Dhoni and then took the decision. He revealed that he was planning to give the 46^th over to Shankar. However, his final decision paid off.

Vijay Shankar ki ticket for World Cup is confirmed @vijayshankar260

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) March 5, 2019

It was Australian captain Aaron Finch who won the toss and put the visitors in. India lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan with not much on the board. It was a Virat Kohli masterclass which brought India back into the game. Vijay Shankar also batted brilliantly for a 41 balls 46 before failing to an unlucky run-out.

Kohli scored his 40^th ODI century and shared a good stand with Ravindra Jadeja. However, after the fall of those two wickets, India lost the plot and was bowled out for 250 n the 49^th over. The visitors began fluently as the opening duo Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja shared a 83 runs stand. It was Kuldeep Yadav who provided the maiden breakthrough.

The Indian spinners were quite brilliant in the middle overs. Marcus Stoinis looked in good touch and scored a patient half-century. However, his ploy to go after the lesser bowlers actually played into India’s hands. Vijay Shankar dismissed Stoinis with a length delivery in the very first delivery. He finished the match off with a brilliant Yorker to castle Adam Zampa.