Mitchell Marsh slams 81 in first assignment as ODI opener
Mitchell Marsh smoked a quick-fire half-century in the opening ODI between India and Australia. Opening the batting for the first time in ODIs, the dasher played a counter-attacking knock and scored 81 off just 65 deliveries. His knock was laced with 10 fours and five maximums. Marsh eventually fell prey to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Here we look at his stats.
A power-packed knock from Marsh
Marsh opened the innings as injured David Warner missed out. Meanwhile, the Aussies got off to a horrendous start with opener Travis Head (5) perishing cheaply. However, Marsh took the onus upon himself and pushed the Indian bowlers on the back foot. The dasher shifted his gears even further after completing his half-century off 51 balls. Jadeja, however, denied the dasher a hundred.
A look at his ODI career
Marsh has now raced to 1,895 runs in 70 ODIs at 33.24 (SR: 90.66). The tally includes one ton and 14 fifties. Notably, Marsh's solitary ODI ton came against India in 2016. He overall tallies 245 runs at 81.66 in six ODIs versus India (SR: 112.38). Meanwhile, the all-rounder, who bowls right-arm pace, also owns 54 ODI wickets (ER: 5.45).
Comeback from injury
Notably, the Mumbai ODI marked Marsh's comeback to international cricket. Troubled by an ankle injury, he underwent surgery after the home ODI series versus England in November last year. He missed the entire Big Bash League 2022-23 due to the same. Nevertheless, the all-rounder has made a stunning return to Australia colors. However, he won't be bowling in the series.
How has the game proceeded?
India won the toss and elected to bowl at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Though Head couldn't do much, Marsh joined forces with skipper Steve Smith (22) and took the Aussies past the 100-run mark. The hosts made a comeback in the middle overs as the Men in Yellow were reduced to 174/6. Mohammed Shami's two wickets in quick succession dented the visitors.
