Pacer Mohammed Shami delivered an exceptional performance, achieving his career-best figures of 5-51, while India's batters showcased their prowess to secure a five-wicket victory over Australia in the opening match of the three-game series on Friday. After being asked to bat first, Australia managed to compile a total of 276 runs; In response, four of India's top six batsmen registered half-centuries, guiding the home team to a win with eight balls to spare. Among those, Suryakumar Yadav, who had struggled in the format for several months, played a pivotal role.
In his last ODI series against Australia, Suryakumar had endured a series of disappointments, suffering three successive ducks, which eventually led to his exclusion from the first XI. Nevertheless, the team management continued to reserve faith in him, and he finally reached a much-needed fifty, scoring exactly 50 runs from 49 balls. His partnership with captain KL Rahul (58*) was crucial in steering the side to a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
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The series is widely seen as pre-cursor to India's World Cup campaign, which kickstarts on October 8 against Australia as well. As such, Suryakumar's return to run-scoring comes as a big boost to the side and former Australia batter Mark Waugh believes Suryakumar could be an important player for India in the fifty-over format.
{{/usCountry}}The series is widely seen as pre-cursor to India's World Cup campaign, which kickstarts on October 8 against Australia as well. As such, Suryakumar's return to run-scoring comes as a big boost to the side and former Australia batter Mark Waugh believes Suryakumar could be an important player for India in the fifty-over format.
{{/usCountry}}Backing the star batter amid criticism over his ODI credentials, Waugh insisted that a batter can't lose his talent overnight and that Suryakumar is good enough for ODIs.
"It's not about those ducks. All those things that people have been talking about, stuff like 'is he just a T20 player? Is he good enough to be a 50-overs player?'. He sure is, you don't lose your talent overnight. There are similar basics in T20 cricket and 50-over cricket. Hit the ball, run hard, put the bad ball away, he can do all those things really well," Mark Waugh told JioCinema.
"It's just a matter of him breaking free and not worrying about getting out. That's the one thing that always holds batters back -- thinking about getting out. If you can not think about that, then your natural instincts will take over and he will be fine," he added.
2nd ODI on Sunday
The second ODI of the three-match series against Australia takes place on Sunday at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, and KL Rahul-led India will be aiming at taking an unassailable lead in the series.
India's star batters, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as well as all-rounder Hardik Pandya will return to the side for the final ODI, meaning the second match could likely be Suryakumar's last chance with the bat before the World Cup in October.
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