India vs Australia 2nd ODI stat attack: Starc closes in on Muralitharan as Men in Blue suffer record defeat

Team India were served a harsh reality check on Sunday, getting routed in the second one-dayer against Australia in Visakhapatnam after getting off to a victorious start in Mumbai.

The match lasted roughly the same duration as a Twenty20 International — 37 overs to be precise — with the Men in Blue getting bundled out for a paltry 117 after being invited to bat by the Steve Smith-led visitors.

Read: ‘Tough day’, Twitterati react to India’s 10-wicket defeat in Vizag

The Aussie openers then made short work of the modest target, chasing it down in just 11 overs without losing a single wicket to level the series with a game to spare, inflicting the kind of thrashing that is normally reserved for minnows.

Mitchell Starc was once again the destroyer-in-chief of the Indian batting lineup, following up his sensational powerplay burst in Mumbai with a five-for (5/53) at Vizag. The left-arm pacer, who once again used the inswinging deliveries to devastating effect, was ably supported by right-arm seamer Sean Abbott, who collected a career-best 3/23.

Watch: Smith one-handed stunner to dismiss Pandya during 2nd ODI

While Mitch Marsh was the lone Aussie to bring up a half-century on Friday, both Marsh (66 not out) and Travis Head (51 not out) struck fifties during the chase, striking at 183.33 and 170 respectively and making a mincemeat of the Indian attack that had bowled them out for 188 just two days ago.

The one-sided affair, of course, witnessed a number of milestones being achieved, which we take a look at in greater detail below:

— Starc collected his ninth five-for in ODI cricket. Only Waqar Younis (13) and Muttiah Muralitharan (10) have more five-fors in the format than the Australian left-arm quick, who is currently tied with Brett Lee and Shahid Afridi.

— Australia won with 234 deliveries to spare, registering the biggest win against India in men’s ODIs in terms of balls remaining, the record of which was previously held by New Zealand (212).

— India were bundled out for 117 their fourth-lowest total in ODIs at home. Their score of 78 against Sri Lanka in Kanpur on 24 December, 1986 remains their lowest-ever total on home soil in this format.

— This is also only the second time pacers have collected all 10 wickets in an ODI against India in India. The previous instance also involved the Australian team, at Guwahati in 2009 in which Doug Bollinger collected a five-for in a winning effort as the Men in Blue were bundled out for 170.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.