Australian skipper Pat Cummins was delighted after they won the third ODI against India by 66 runs at the Saurashtra Cricket Association, Rajkot on Wednesday. While Maxwell returned with impressive figures of 4-40, Starc dismissed in-form KL Rahul.
Maxwell returned with career-best figures as he accounted for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar and Shreyas Iyer in his fine spell. However, Maxwell was cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah for only five runs.
Australia came up with a fine collective effort as they posted 352 runs on the board after Pat Cummins elected to bat first. Mitchell Marsh and David Warner gave a blistering start to Australia as they added 78 runs for the opening alliance.
Marsh, Warner, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne all scored half-centuries and thus all the main batters got runs for Australia before the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Cummins also revealed that Travis Head has been ruled out for the first half of the World Cup whereas Ashton Agar is also out with an injury.
Pat Cummins said in the post-match presentation, “I must say I’m pretty happy to bowl in the night than in the heat. Both have not played a lot, Maxwell four-fer and Starcy looked in great rhythm. Trav Head won’t be fit for the start of the tournament. I will be pretty worried about opening the bowling against them [on Warner-Mitch Marsh]. Ash Agar is back home with a calf and Head won’t be fit for the next couple of weeks. Happy as it was the first hit where we have had almost a full-strength team.”
On the other hand, Marnus Labuschagne scored a fine knock of 72 runs off just 58 balls with the help of nine fours. Labuschagne was delighted with the team’s comprehensive win after losing first two matches.
He said after the game, “Nice to contribute. Nice to navigate that scenario (batting getting tougher with old ball) and get a good total on the board. It certainly felt like the game was nicest at the front end. Boys did well at the back end. It was a bit hard to slog. We have lost the series but it was really nice to bounce back and see the team gel, very satisfying performance.”
Australia will take on India in their World Cup opener at Chennai on 8th October.
