5 notable statistics from the recent Australia vs India ODI series
The three ODIs between India and Australia provided a fitting end to India's tour of Australia. All three games were closely fought, but just as they did in the Test series and the T20I series before, India emerged the victors.
The looming presence of the World Cup made these ODIs particularly important, as both sides still seem to be uncertain of what their best sides look like. These ODIs will certainly have provided the selectors of both nations with some interesting dilemmas, both good and bad.
Adding to the conundrums the selectors already have, is that the series subverted many of the ODI norms. Most noteworthy was that neither team reached 300 in any of the games, with the bowlers having a greater influence than is often the case.
This is particularly noteworthy when it is considered that both sides rested some of their best bowlers for the series, with Australia leaving out their key pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, while India also left out the in-form Jasprit Bumrah. Furthermore, India were without KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya, due to their suspension from the side.
Yet the absence of these three players only reinforced the depth India currently have. While players like MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar rediscovered their form, players on the fringes of their squad such as Yuzvendra Chahal and Kedar Jadhav also made strong cases for their continued selection.
Meanwhile, for Australia, the pattern was all too similar. They showed the immense depth they currently have in their pace-bowling stocks, with Jhye Richardson and Jason Behrendorff impressing, but the opposite is true of their batting depth, and they still lack the quality batsmen the top ODI teams have.
Furthermore, their struggles against spin were once again reaffirmed, a problem Australian cricket is facing in all formats and in all conditions.
#1 The average opening stand was just 16.50
Both sides struggled greatly against the new ball, which is perhaps surprising given that the likes of Bumrah, Starc and Hazlewood were absent.
However, the players filling the holes these players left did an admirable job. Bhuvneshwar Kumar topped the wicket-taking charts, taking eight for the series at just 17.38 a piece. Jhye Richardson was similarly effective, taking six wickets at an average of 18.67.
Contrastingly, Rohit Sharma was the only one of the four openers to have any joy, as all the others finished the series with averages below 20.
The Australian openers, in particular, struggled. Their opening partnerships only resulted in 35 runs across the series. Aaron Finch's miserable form continued, as he averaged just 8.67 across the series, while Alex Carey's promotion to opener also proved unsuccessful, as he only averaged 15.67.
This brings into question why Australia didn't instead try opening with either Shaun Marsh or Usman Khawaja, with the former having opened for Australia several times before in ODIs.
India will also be disappointed that Shikhar Dhawan failed to make an impact in Rahul's absence, as he averaged just 18.33 throughout the series. With a career average of 44.95 and a strike-rate of 93.99, the fact Dhawan isn't a constant fixture in their ODI team only reaffirms their batting depth. However, it is still a chance missed for Dhawan.