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On September 25, Sunday, India was able to beat Australia by 99 runs on the DLS method, to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. After the massive score from India’s batting lineup, Ravichandran Ashwin took three crucial wickets, including the one of Marnus Labuschagne, which he decoded later on, to help the team secure the ODI series victory against Australia.
The first half of the proceedings in Indore belonged to the Indian batters, who smashed the Australian bowlers to all corners of the Holkar Cricket Stadium. After the early wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad fell in the fourth over of the innings, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer stitched together a 200-run stand to put India on course for a massive total.
Once both Gill and Iyer were dismissed shortly after registering their centuries, the stand-in captain KL Rahul and Suryakumar scored quick-fire fifties to propel the Indian score to 399/5 in their 50 overs. The defence of the big total started emphatically for the hosts, with Prasidh Krishna dismissing Matthew Short and Steve Smith in back-to-back deliveries.
It led to the veteran opener David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne putting up a 90-run stand to bring Australia back into the match. But just as the visitors were looking to put some pressure on the Indians, Ravichandran Ashwin bowled an emphatic carrom ball to castle the right-handed middle-order batter.
The off-spin bowler gave an interview to the BCCI TV afterwards, talking about how he got the better of Marnus Labuschagne at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. He was quoted as saying, “From my side, I wanted to keep the length perfectly, in terms of trying to keep it away from the bat and also change pace. I think Marnus tried to play a reverse sweep before that, so I was expecting him to try and reverse and probably try to slog sweep and all that.”
“So I wanted to keep my pace up and down, just in case he gave the stumps away. I felt that they were not picking it off the hand that very well. So maybe that angle that I am creating and the change of, by using my third finger to bowl the carrom ball and the off break so maybe, hopefully, it will hold me in good stead,” he added.