Key events
Australia win by two wickets, with 22 balls to spare
Geoff Lemon
That’s the series 2-0 to Australia, with one to play in Sydney on Saturday. They get the win, and it never really felt as close as the final margin suggests. At 132 for 4, maybe, when Carey fell, or 187 for 5 when it was Short getting out, those were the points when it might have been close. But Connolly settled things down after the Carey wicket, and Owen counterpunched so effectively after Short was out that he more or less finished the contest then and there. India had a slight chance at the end but not enough runs to play with. Even another 10 runs added to that target could have made that last passage of play much nervier.
Connolly on the telly says that he looked calm but was nervous when he came out to bat, but was pretty calm by the end even when Zampa came out to join him. It was his most complete and convincing innings for Australia, given that he’s missed out on batting at all in more than half of his international matches. Zampa is player of the match though for his four wickets. Up the bowlers.
India were fairly decent with the bat today, thanks to Rohit and Shreyas with some help from Axar, but still underclubbed on that first innings. They’ve got problems with bowler injuries and fatigue, and not that many options left in the squad. Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav will surely come in for Sydney, but India may need a third option. Can they get someone from the T20 squad in? Send an SOS to T Natarajan!
That’s it from us, we’ll see you on Saturday.
46.2 overs: Australia 265-8 (Connolly 61, Zampa 0) It’s a bit of anticlimax in the end. Connolly stays cool, waits for Arshdeep Singh, and drives two through cover. Then two from the next ball, to tie the scores. As Arshdeep tries the bouncer, it balloons too high, and it’s called a wide. So that will be that.
46th over: Australia 260-8 (Connolly 57, Zampa 0) Connolly is still there, so close to the win, but eight down is more nervous than nine down. And there would be a run if they wanted it, stabbed off the pads, but Connolly says no. That ball was nearly through onto the pads, too. Probably going down leg.
Plenty of overs to get five runs, but funny things can happen at eight down.
WICKET! Starc c Axar b Siraj 4, Australia 260-8
Hmmmmmm. Five runs to win, after Starc smacks a four down the ground, but then he’s out. Short ball from Siraj, tries to stab it away to deep third, instead he lifts it to point where it’s caught. One ball left in the over, Zampa to the middle. If Siraj can knock him over with this one…
45th over: Australia 255-7 (Connolly 56, Starc 0) That must have been tactical from Connolly to tell Bartlett to have a swing, knowing that they’re close enough to the target and have enough wickets in hand that they could afford the risk. Mitch Starc to the middle, can bat. Can chip the umpire, too, for not calling a wide that goes just past the left-hander’s hip. Umpire thinks it clipped a bit of clothing.
WICKET! Bartlett c sub (Jurel) b Arshdeep 3, Australia 255-7
Arshdeep has finally had his arms and legs reattached for one last burst. Powerful swing by Bartlett, but the drive goes off the inside half to deep midwicket for one. Connolly misses a pull shot again. This is interesting. It doesn’t take much, as a new player, for teams to target you with the short ball. Now, the square leg umpire has called that a wide, and it was marginally above the helmet as it passed Connolly, but it was low enough that he could have hit it when it passed his bat, in front of his body.
Connolly scores off a fuller ball, then Bartlett decides to chance his arm and aim over cover. It doesn’t work, skewed down the ground, where Dhruv Jurel the sub fielder has time to run back from mid off outside the circle and take it.
44th over: Australia 252-6 (Connolly 55, Bartlett 2) Siraj back with two overs left in his share, last roll of the dice for Gill to search for a wicket. But they haven’t been easy to come by tonight, it’s been more down to batting error when they’ve come along. Connolly is content to give Bartlett strike, Bartlett is comfortable finding singles, and Connolly pulls a couple more runs. No need to attack when you need 13 from 38 balls. Siraj finishes with a good short ball and clips Connolly’s helmet, so now he needs the concussion check. Missed the pull shot, but didn’t wear much of the ball.
43rd over: Australia 248-6 (Connolly 52, Bartlett 1) That leaves 17 to win at the end of the over, after Bartlett gets off the mark and Connolly keeps strike.
WICKET! Owen c Arshdeep b Washington 36, Australia 244-5
A sigh of relief from India. That’s the vulnerability with leg-side players: Owen gets width outside off but still tries to play it to leg. Washington comes around the wicket to the right-hander, angles it across him towards the off stump line, and the angle means that Owen’s cross-bat swing sends the ball higher than long, landing with the fielder at long on.
Too late, probably, Owen has almost killed the game already.
Half century! Cooper Connolly 50 from 42 balls
42nd over: Australia 243-5 (Connolly 50, Owen 35) But Connolly doesn’t want to be caught! He sees the fun Owen is having, sizes up Siraj, and drives him over cover for six. What a shot from the left-hander. Then happy to take the single and give Owen the strike. Big swing from Owen, into his thigh pad though, and they run an extra. That lets Connolly play a pull shot for four, then adds the brace that he needs to move from 48 to 50. He’s played really well today, steadied the innings from a wobbly point.
Only 22 to win now, with plenty of overs.
41st over: Australia 229-5 (Connolly 37, Owen 35) If he can go leg side, Mitch Owen will murder it. Axar Patel is the target now: after 39 from his first nine overs, this last one goes for 13. Owen sweeps hard over midwicket for four, then gets a slightly shorter ball and absolutely pulverises the pull shot for six. He’s nearly caught Connolly.
40th over: Australia 216-5 (Connolly 35, Owen 24) Yep, Harshit Rana gets another spell and Mitch Owen gets another six! First ball of the over, short, pulled away. Rana went off the field with cramp after taking Short’s wicket, and he doesn’t look comfortable. He bowls a wide and then seizes up with cramps again. Arshdeep Singh is getting some treatment on the boundary line as well. Siraj takes the chance of the delay to get off the field and use the fence to stretch his hamstring.
Rana is trying to finish the over now but he’s running in like an old man catching a bus. Arshdeep is flat on his back making grass angels. Remarkably, Connolly doesn’t target the wounded bowler. He pats away two balls and drops a single off the last.
39th over: Australia 207-5 (Connolly 34, Owen 17) Axar’s over, by contrast, goes for three runs, but it might not matter with pace at the other end.
38th over: Australia 204-5 (Connolly 33, Owen 15) And there goes Owen, against the pace of Harshit Rana. Smokes four through cover, then whacks a pull to deep midwicket that looks like four, but Siraj manages to save it, by accident, twice. Two accidents. Just dives in front of the ball and uses his body to get in the way, no idea where it is as the ball hits his ribcage. Then as he gets up, the ball is spinning back towards the boundary, and it accidentally bumps into Siraj’s hand.
Two runs saved there, but no saving the next one, as Owen nails the pull shot over backward square for six. Suddenly Australia need five an over.
37th over: Australia 190-5 (Connolly 32, Owen 2) A brief look at Axar for Mitch Owen, but I doubt he’ll wait long. 75 to win.
WICKET! Short c Siraj b Rana 74, Australia 187-5
36th over: Australia 187-5-4 (Connolly 31) Last ball of the over, Siraj takes the chance to make amends! Good bumper from Harshit Rana, after being taken for a couple of fours previously in the over. One was through cover, one was a pull to a slower bouncer, so Rana has had enough and goes the bouncer with speed. Short shapes to pull and then flinches away from the ball at the last moment. Gets a big piece but not all of it, and Siraj is now fielding at deep midwicket, another spot where I wouldn’t put him, but this time he hold the catch!
35th over: Australia 175-4 (Short 69, Connolly 25) At last Short gets the ball he wants. A length from Washington that isn’t to full to sweep, so Short gets down on one knee, uses his reach to get forward to the point of contact, and smacks the slog-sweep over backward square leg for six. Washington is an off-spinner around the wicket to the right-hander, so that line outside leg stump makes it easy for short to hit.
34th over: Australia 166-4 (Short 62, Connolly 23) Harshit Rana returns, and with the chance from spin to pace, Short continues being circumspect. Three singles, gets the target down into double figures, at just over a run a ball.
33rd over: Australia 163-4 (Short 61, Connolly 21) It’s Connolly who keeps the scoring going, while Short drops anchor. That makes sense. Short can be explosive but in this game they need him to bat deep. The younger player can make the running for now. Another boundary as he late-cuts Axar.
32nd over: Australia 155-4 (Short 59, Connolly 15) Now settled, Connolly starts to move. Gets a ball full enough from Axar to drive, and places it wide of mid off, four. Correcting, Axar gets too short, and Connolly is able to tug it around the corner to the fine leg boundary as well. Gets his strike rate back over a run a ball.
110 more runs to win.
31st over: Australia 145-4 (Short 58, Connolly 6) Washington Sundar into his fourth over, he has plenty left. Axar has four to come. Short edges a ball into his helmet, it lobs up, but falls short of short fine leg where Rohit is running in. Mandatory concussion check, so the umpires call drinks. Eventually they finish the over, four singles from it.
30th over: Australia 141-4 (Short 56, Connolly 4) The dual spin attack burning through some overs without conceding many runs, two from Axar’s over. Required rate is north of 6 an over now.
29th over: Australia 139-4 (Short 55, Connolly 3) Washington to Short… and he’s dropped! Oh no. We’ve seen a couple of near stunners that have gone down, but that’s as simple as can be. The question is, why is Siraj at backward point? Comfortably India’s most suspect fielder, notwithstanding that great catch he took during the Test series against England, and the cover-point area is a hot spot for Short. Bad captaincy. Short gets forward to drive, doesn’t get it cleanly, relatively flat catch but not going quickly, and Siraj has a slip with one foot as he gets in position, has the ball hit his hands and into his chest, then get free. India would have been right on top had Short been out.
28th over: Australia 135-4 (Short 52, Connolly 2) A lot more riding on Short now, with the inexperience Cooper Connolly and Mitch Owen next in the order. An early false shot from Connolly too, a leading edge that just loops over Axar’s head for a couple of runs.
WICKET! Carey b Washington 9, Australia 132-4
27th over: Australia 132-4 (Short 51) So they’re past the halfway mark, going at 5 an over, needing 5 and a half. Well within hand as long as wickets are in hand as well. Washington the bowler now, Carey races through for a single, direct hit at the non-striker’s end but Carey has run so far past the stumps that there’s no chance of an overthrow. Short gets a run down the ground.
Last ball of the over, there goes the sweep shot, and there goes middle stump! Washington does Carey in the air, he’s too early on the stroke and left a wide open route to his pegs, the ball straightening down the line.
Half century! Matt Short 50 from 48 balls
26th over: Australia 130-3 (Short 50, Carey 8) Axar continues, around the wicket to the right-hander, who moves to fifty with a cut shot. He only has a couple of fifties so far in ODI cricket from quite a few opportunities, and one in T20s, so he needs to put together some scores to keep getting picked in these teams.
25th over: Australia 126-3 (Short 48, Carey 6) The lull breaks! A powerful short from Matt Short, he’s very tall, so he leans forward to get over the top of a length ball from Arshdeep and smacks it through extra cover. Not a conventional drive, there was a lot more power than usual from a higher point of contact given that ball wasn’t full.
24th over: Australia 117-3 (Short 42, Carey 3) No sweeps from Carey against the spinner so far, just works a run square. Short keeps collecting them, a couple here, one there, in restrained fashion.
23rd over: Australia 112-3 (Short 38, Carey 2) Arshdeep is back, left-arm pace. Carey is happy to take his time, having a look at a few balls before driving a single.
22nd over: Australia 110-3 (Short 37, Carey 1) Hometown boy Alex Carey is back in the side, after Josh Philippe was the fill-in keeper in Perth.
