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Mitchell Starc ran through the India batting lineup in Visakhapatnam with a five-for as India were reduced to one of their lowest ODI totals at home.
India were skittled out for a mere 117 in the second ODI of the series, recording their second-lowest team score while batting first at home. India registered their lowest total against Australia in 1981 when Men in Blue were bundled out for 63 runs in Sydney. Men in Blue registered their second-lowest total again in Sydney with 100 against Australia in 2000. India managed to slightly better their lowest first-innings total at home by five runs, surpassing 112 against Sri Lanka in Dharamsala in 2017. This was also their fourth-lowest total at home in ODIs and their third-lowest against Australia. Starc's form carried over from the west coast of Mumbai to the east coast of Visakhapatnam, beginning with the wicket of Shubman Gill in the first over after India were given the opportunity to bat first. He was on a hat-trick for the second game in a row after scalping skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav off consecutive balls three overs later. Yadav's poor ODI form continued as he recorded his second golden duck in a row. KL Rahul, India's saviour with the bat in the previous game, couldn't repeat his heroics this time, as the left-arm pacer trapped him in front of the stumps. Steve Smith bowled a spectacular one-handed stunner at slips to dismiss Hardik Pandya as India lost half their side before scoring 50 runs. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja looked assured at the crease but couldn't contribute much to India's total as Nathan Ellis took both of their wickets. Sean Abbott had a hat-trick of his own after taking the wickets of Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammad Shami off consecutive balls, but it was Starc who would get his five-wicket haul, rattling Mohammed Siraj's stumps to finish with figures of 5/53. The five wicket-haul was Starc's ninth in ODI cricket, taking him level with Brett Lee for most five-fors for Australia and into the top five for most five-fors in ODI history. In response, Australia needed only 11 overs to chase down the total, tearing India apart with some brutal hitting. Mitchell Marsh smashed 36 balls for 66*, including sixes, fours, and sixes. Travis Head was not to be outdone, remaining unbeaten on 51 off 30 balls. The margin of loss was the biggest inflicted on India in ODI history, with Australia chasing down the total with 234 balls to spare. The loss against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2019 was the previous worst, where the Black Caps chased down a target of 93 with 212 balls to spare. (ANI)
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