Australia beat India 2-1 in a 3-match ODI series to kick off the summer. Here’s five things we learned from the series.
Steve Smith’s brilliance resumes
Steve Smith smashed back to back hundreds to start his summer in the perfect way possible. His two innings at the SCG felt like a highlight package and at the same time, they were a highlight package. Smith scored both his hundreds of just 62 bowls (the fastest century of his career) and in doing so added a different dimension to his batting. There have been complains in the past of him scoring at a slower rate than Warner and Finch, but this series proved to us all that Smith is Australia’s go-to batsman in the ODI format too.
The tons brought up his ODI hundred tally up to 11, five against India. Fans will be looking forward to seeing more big innings from Smith throughout the summer.
Bowling woes continue for India
Its not been a great year for the Indian bowlers. India have now lost their last two ODI series and five out of their last six ODIs. In each of their five defeats, the bowlers failed to pick up a wicket in the first 10 overs. The jinx was broken in the final ODI of the series when debutant Thangarasu Natarajan cleaned up Marnus Labuschagne in the sixth over.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli also expressed concerns over the lack of a sixth bowling option. Part time bowlers have been instrumental to the Indian team’s success in the past by applying pressure through quick overs or a surprise wicket. The captain will have to balance the part timers well, as Hardik Pandya confirmed he wasn’t fit enough to bowl yet. With the T20 World Cup next year, it will be bowlers who will be key in the tournament.
Glen Maxwell a.k.a “The Big Show”
Glen Maxwell reminded everyone what a quality white ball cricketer he can be. After a lean IPL, Maxwell was keen to put the poor run behind him and start fresh for the ODI series. “Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be fine. I was just hitting the ball fine, but wasn’t getting much of a crack” said Maxwell before the start of the series. With scores of 45, 63 and 59 all with a strike rate of above 150, Maxwell made the most of the opportunity. Having batted all over the order before, he seems to have made the number 7 spot his own now.
Hardik Pandya shows his class
Hardik Pandya is very popular among Indian fans and its not hard to see why. He’s a unique all-rouder, a four time IPL winner and is pure box office with bat in hand. Playing his first ODI series since the 2019 World Cup, Pandya showed real maturity with the bat. He scored 90 in the first ODI and 92* in the third and ended up being player of the match for the latter. There were a lot of questions over him being part of the playing XI as a specialist batsman, but it turns out he’s always been one. He’s definitely been India’s biggest positive of the series.
Fans finally return to the stadium
After an entire English summer, an IPL and worldwide lockdowns, fans finally returned to cricket. Since the start of the pandemic one of the big questions on every cricket fans mind was “When will the fans be back”. The roars after a 4 or a 6, the boos of an umpire error and the nerves at the dying stage, having fans back gave us a huge reminder to why we love the game. There were still guidelines and rules for the fans to follow, but to have them back in any capacity was a huge bonus.
