Sourav Ganguly Backs Team India To Bounce Back Against Australia

Ahead of the do-or-die second ODI against Australia, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has backed Team India to bounce back. The Men in Blue will have to win the upcoming game in Rajkot at all cost to keep the three-match series alive. Contrary to the popular expectations, the match turned out to be lopsided as Australia thrashed the hosts by ten wickets.

It was Australia’s fourth consecutive ODI win in India. The defeat was also India’s first ten-wicket defeat in ODIs at home since 2005. Right from the toss till the end of the game, not much went India’s way in Mumbai on Tuesday. Asked to bat first, India were off to a poor start as their batting mainstay Rohit Sharma departed for just 10.

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Shikhar Dhawan (74) and KL Rahul (47) then steadied the ship and laid the foundation for a good total by adding 121 runs for the second wicket. However, once they departed in a space of six runs, the middle-order batsmen including Virat Kohli failed to guide the team to a good total. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja got the starts but they failed to capitalise on it as India were bowled out for a modest 255.

In reply, Australia chased down 256 without break any sweat. Their openers Aaron Finch and David Warner went on to score centuries to make light work of the hosts. The visitors crossed down the finishing line in just the 38th over . Warner remained unbeaten on 128 while Finch remained unbeaten on 110.

Sourav Ganguly’s message:

As India gear up for the series-defining clash, Sourav Ganguly took to Twitter to show his support for the team. The former India skipper said that the upcoming two games will be cracker. He also played down the heavy defeat in the first ODI, writing:

“The next two one dayers against Australia will be a cracker . This indian team is a strong team .. just had a bad day in office .. been in this situation before and have come back to win from 2-0 down two seasons ago ..good luck @imVkohli

The next two one dayers against Australia will be a cracker . This indian team is a strong team .. just had a bad day in office .. been in this situation before and have come back to win from 2-0 down two seasons ago ..good luck @imVkohli @BCCI @My11Circle pic.twitter.com/yfV09iPk85

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) January 15, 2020