ICC ODI World Cup has started. All the teams have played two matches each. India has won both its matches. Whereas five-time world champion Australia has not been able to regain its rhythm yet. In the first match against Australia, India had registered six wins at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. Now South Africa has given the second blow to Australia. South Africa has defeated Australia by 134 runs at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. After this defeat, Australia has reached the bottom 9th position in the points table.
Difficult path ahead for Australia
It may be difficult for Australia to make a comeback after two consecutive defeats. In the league stage of the World Cup, all 10 teams have to play nine matches each. After this, the semi-final match will be played between the top four teams in the points table. In which the two best teams of the world will play the final of ODI World Cup 2023 on 19th November at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Batsmen sank Australia
Australia’s biggest flaw in this World Cup has been its batting. Australia’s top order batsmen are not able to give a great start to their team. The same was seen in the match against India also. Indian bowlers made Australian batsmen helpless. Apart from David Warner and Steven Smith, no batsman could cross the 30-run mark. Five batsmen could not even cross the 10 mark. Indian spinners dismissed six Australian batsmen in Chennai. Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets.
South Africa beat Australia by 177 runs
Talking about the second match, South Africa, batting first, set a target of 312 runs for Australia. Opener Quinton De Kock played a brilliant inning of 109 runs in 106 balls. Aidan Markram also scored a half-century. In reply, Australia’s batsmen made a very poor start and the entire team was out on the score of 177 in 44.5 overs. At one time Australia’s score was 70/6. After that, Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Starc tried to handle the innings but this pair also could not make a long partnership. Five batsmen could not even cross double figures.
Australia could not even reach the score of 200 in both the matches
Australia could not even cross the 200 mark in both its matches. In the match against India, the team batted first and was limited to 199 runs, only Steve Smith scored the maximum of 46 runs. David Warner also played an inning of 41 runs. The situation was similar in the second match against South Africa. Chasing the target of 312 runs, Australia could score only 177 runs. The maximum score in this match was 46 runs. After this no batsman could even touch the figure of 30.
Many shortcomings in the bowling department also
The team is playing with only expert spinner Adam Zampa. Spinners play a decisive role on Indian pitches. But Australia has more confidence in its fast bowlers. In the first match against India, Australian bowlers were able to dismiss only four batsmen, that too at a time when three of India’s wickets had fallen at the score of two runs. All three batsmen were out on zero. After that the bowlers had to yearn for wickets. By the time he dismissed Virat Kohli on the score of 85 in the 38th over, India was very close to victory. Due to poor performance of the bowlers, the team has to use makeshift bowlers.