Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins felt that Australia had a chance of winning the 2nd ODI till Marcus Stoinis was there at the crease. Pat Cummins who bowled brilliantly to restrict India to a score of 250 runs praised Stoinis for taking the match right till the end. The Australians believed they could seal the deal if Stoinis was there till the end. However, it was Vijay Shankar who provided the much-needed breakthrough in the first delivery of the final over. Australia required 11 of the last over and Stoinis’ wicket was the final nail in the coffin for Australia.
After discussing with MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli decided o give the final over to Vijay Shankar. The all-rounder held his nerves and did the job for his team. While the delivery to Stoinis was a length delivery, the one to Zampa was straight at the base of the stumps and the leggie had just no answer. Courtesy a close fought 8 wickets victory, the home team took a 2-0 lead in the 5 match series. The 3rd ODI is slated to be played in Ranchi on 8th March.
Marcus Stoinis scored a half-century and kept Australia in the match till the final over of the match. (Image Courtesy: AFP)
Pat Cummins said Australia had a chance till Marcus Stoinis was there at the crease
“When Marcus is there, you always feel like we’re in for a chance,” said Cummins. “He’s been the closer [finisher] for us the last couple of years, played some unbelievable knocks and assesses the game really well. With him out there, I thought we were [in with] a massive chance. He played it beautifully, the way he just counted down the balls, chose the bowlers. To have 11 off the last over against probably their fifth bowler is a pretty good position from where we were. He set it up beautifully – just wasn’t his day… that last over.
“Everyone’s always hurting (after a loss). You always look back at a couple of balls you could have bowled differently or how you got out, or how you could have done something different. We’re all hurting, but I thought someone like Stoiny gave himself the best chance to win the game. The innings Petey and Alex played if they didn’t play them the game would have been over 10 overs earlier. There are lots of good things the guys can take out of today. It’s really, really disappointing to lose but all is not lost, there are still three games to go.”
Vijay Shankar celebrates after taking the final wicket. (Credits: Getty)
For Australia, it was Stoinis who gave Australia a hope till the last over. For the hosts, it was skipper Virat Kohli who smashed his 40th ODI century to ensure India reached a competitive total of 250. They failed to play their full quota of 50 overs. Vijay Shankar who was the Star of the Match also batted brilliantly. He scored 41 balls 46 before being unfortunately run out by Adam Zampa.
