IND v AUS 2020, 2nd ODI: 3 players who flopped
Dazed from an IPL hangover, the Indian team sleepwalked to an ODI series hammering against Australia with one game to go.
Batted out of the contest in both games and with absurd squad selection laid bare, India move next to the target of ending their 5-match losing streak in the format. To put their struggle into perspective, the Indian batsmen made a total of four 50+ scores in the two games, while the Australians scored five in the second match alone.
Once again, India meaninglessly threw away wickets in an even taller chase than the previous game. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan swapped performances from the last game, while KL Rahul stepped up.
Unfortunately for them, the writing was already on the wall after an abysmally poor bowling effort against the marauding Aussie top order, as Steve Smith and co buried India under the weight of five 50+ scores.
On an unforgiving surface for the bowlers, there were a few players who stood out as major misses for their sides. Here are the three worst performers of the 2nd IND v AUS ODI.
#3 Yuzvendra Chahal (IND)
India's bowling returns have gone downhill since Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were separated. While the latter has not quite banged the door down to merit a place, the lack of an attacking spin partner has added pressure on Chahal, who has thus far been unable to impress.
Bowling to larger boundaries than the ones he so well protected at Sharjah and Bangalore in the IPL, Chahal was taken to the cleaners for the second successive game. To top it all off, he went wicketless and went without completing his quota, having given 71 runs off his 9.
#2 Mitchell Starc (AUS)
Though Australia have had a lot less to worry about than the visitors with ball in hand, the form of spearhead Mitchell Starc will cause them some concern. The left-armer's poor starts in both games allowed the Indian openers to put on 50 runs quickly - notably, his first over back in action went for 20.
In the second ODI, Starc was well below expectations, comfortably outshone by Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. With nothing to show for in the wickets column - even Moises Henriques got a wicket - Starc would have a lot to worry about, especially with an economy rate of 9.1.
Going back without finishing his quota of overs, Starc could be rested - or dropped, if we are to be more severe - for the next game.
#1 Navdeep Saini (IND)
With Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah having more or less cemented their place as the lead pacers in the team, the third spot was up for grabs. In these two ODIs, Navdeep Saini has done himself no favours in his attempt to keep that spot, as he followed an unremarkable performance with a poor one.
Going wicketless, Saini was hit for a six on the first ball he bowled, which set the tone for the rest of the day. He was bafflingly called on to bowl the final over ahead of Mohammed Shami, and his show ensured there were more questions than answers after it.
On a different note, he maintained his high average with the bat, as that statistical anomaly added some intrigue to an otherwise dismal reading for Saini.