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Key events
17th over: Australia 100-2 (Short 18, Renshaw 4) Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana get in each others way at deep midwicket and make a bodge job of stopping Short’s flick off the pads from going for four. Australia bring up their 100.
16th over: Australia 92-2 (Short 11, Renshaw 3) Matt Renshaw replaces Marsh, India sense this is a moment to put some pressure back on Australia. Renshaw off the mark with a paddle sweep for two. Four runs and the wicket of Marsh off the over.
WICKET! Mitchell Marsh b Patel 41 (Australia 88-2)
Big wicket! First ball after drinks Marsh is beaten by one that skids on and knocks back his off stump!
15th over: Australia 88-1 (Marsh 41, Short 10) Kuldeep drags one down and is boshed away over the leg side for four by Marsh. Time for a drink.
14th over: Australia 80-1 (Marsh 36, Short 7) Axar Patel into the attack with his left arm tweakings. He starts frugally, just two runs off the over.
13th over: Australia 78-1 (Marsh 35, Short 7) India burn a review as KL Rahul thinks Short got an edge behind off Yadav but the review shows nothing on the snicko and the umpire stays with his original decision of not out.
12th over: Australia 71-1 (Marsh 29, Short 6) India are enjoying a few overs of peace and quiet since Head’s departure. Siraj bustles through his over, just four runs off it.
11th over: Australia 67-1 (Marsh 28, Short 3) Time for some spin, Kuldeep Yadav is called into the attack. Both batters are watchful but manage to rotate strike for four singles.
10th over: Australia 63-1 (Marsh 26, Short 1) Matt Short is the new batter and he should’ve been run out second ball! Indecision with Marsh sees both batters dancing in the middle of the wicket as Gill collects at mid off and has all three stumps to aim at. The throw is slung wide and Short survives.
That’s a bad miss.
WICKET! Travis Head c Prasidh Krishna b Mohammed Siraj (Australia 61-1)
Gone! Travis Head flays the returning Siraj over extra cover for four but then guides the very next ball to backward point! India needed that, Head can’t believe he’s given his wicket away and drags himself off the SCG turf.
9th over: Australia 57-0 (Marsh 25, Head 25) Three singles collected off Prasidh Krishna.
8th over: Australia 54-0 (Marsh 24, Head 23) Marsh drives Rana with an open face past point for four. A single to each batter follows. Marsh then trots out of his crease and bunts Rana back over his head for four. The two batters smile and glove bump at the end of the over with the fifty up. It’s all Australia at the minute.
7th over: Australia 44-0 (Marsh 15, Head 22) Prasidh Krishna replaces Siraj and his first ball is spanked into the crowd for SIX on the pull by Marsh! Do not bowl there son. A single brings Marsh on strike. Krishna is too short again and Head doesn’t miss out – pulling over midwicket for four. Thirteen in total off the over, Australia beginning to motor now.
6th over: Australia 31-0 (Marsh 7, Head 17) Travis Head looks in dangerous form, Rana is full and driven with supreme disdain through point for four. Rana goes around the wicket and spears one into the pads but it was comfortably sliding down.
5th over: Australia 26-0 (Marsh 6, Head 13) Cat and mouse between Head and Siraj. The batter punches outside off and gets four by threading the gap and the bowler responds by beating him outside off stump. Three dots follow but Head wins the over with a punch for four that whistles to the boundary.
4th over: Australia 18-0 (Marsh 6, Head 5) Rana swings one back prodigiously! Marsh leaves it alone but it decks back and bounces over the bails, beating KL Rahul behind the stumps and running away for four byes. Shot! Rana serves up a half-volley that Marsh absolutely marmalises with a cover drive to the fence.
3rd over: Australia 9-0 (Marsh 2, Head 5) A stat flashes up to say that the past nine ODIs at the SCG have been won by the team batting first. There’s decent carry and a bit of life in this wicket early doors though, Marsh gets a leg bye, Siraj then slants one past Head and the leftie has a flirt at it outside off stump. A single to midwicket brings Marsh back on strike. Well bowled! Siraj takes the edge but it flies wide of the cordon and away for a single. No boundary yet for… ah there it is – Head flicks off his pads with lovely timing to get four off the final ball.
2nd over: Australia 2-0 (Marsh 1, Head 0) Harshit Rana begins from round the wicket, he’s back of a length and darting it off the biscuit coloured surface. Head is hopping a little at the crease, a leg bye and a scampered single see Australia open their account. Marsh then plinks a drive down the ground for a single and the first run off the bat. Excellent start from India’s opening bowlers.
1st over: Australia 0-0 (Marsh 0, Head 0) Lovely start from Siraj, he gets some swing in the air and a smidge of movement off the pitch. Marsh is defending on the front foot and then plays a booming… leave. Dot follows dot. A maiden to begin with!
Righto, the indomitable Mohammed Siraj has the ball in hand. Mitch Marsh and Travis Head to open up for Australia. Let’s play!
It’s pitch black where I am in deepest Sussex (England) but I’m pleased to report it is clear and bright at the SCG. No pesky rain delays on my watch thanks very much. The players are readying, we’ll be underway in five minutes.
Australia win the toss and choose to bat first
Crazily, that is the EIGHTEENTH lost ODI toss in a row for India. Pretty sure the probability of that happening would make your brain melt. Anyway, Shubman Gill doesn’t mind, he says he would have bowled first anyway, so there.
“It looks a good surface” say Mitch Marsh. “Sunny conditions, hopefully we bat well and put a good total on the board.”
He confirms one change for Australia. Nathan Ellis is back in for Xavier Bartlett. No rest for Starc and Hazlewood.
Shubman Gill confirms two changes for India – Kuldeep and Prasidh come in for Reddy and Arshdeep.
Australia: 1 Mitchell Marsh (c), 2 Travis Head, 3 Matthew Short, 4 Matthew Renshaw, 4 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Cooper Connolly, 7 Mitchell Owen, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
India: 1 Shubman Gill (c), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Axar Patel, 6 KL Rahul (wk), 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Harshit Rana, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Mohammed Siraj
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the third men’s one day international between Australia and India from the historic Sydney Cricket Ground. Dead rubber? Pffft.
Australia may have clinched the series with their two wicket win in Adelaide but a bout between these two sides is never dead, for the Aussies it is a chance to put a clean sweep over India for the first time in an ODI series. For India, well it’s a case of stopping that from happening, basically.
Virat Kohli has bagged two ducks in a row, giving a l’orange hue of late to his extremely gilded ODI career. With a quick turnaround between games he might not have messrs Starc and Hazlewood to contend with as a certain Test series of note is looming ever closer.
Play begins at the SCG at 2.30pm local time, an eye squintingly early 4.30am here in Blighty. I’ll be back with the news of the teams and the toss (along with a vat of extremely strong coffee in hand) very shortly.
