Australia and India are squaring off in the third and the final ODI of the three-match ODI series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. In brilliant conditions for batting, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first and made the best of the conditions on offer, posting 352/7. However, the heat and the humid conditions at the venue, did seem to take their toll on the Australian batters. While Mitchell Marsh who top-scored for Australia with 96, described it the most difficult conditions he has had to face as a batter, a chair was called upon to help Steven Smith beat the heat in Rajkot.
A video of the incident has also gone viral on social media. Not only was Smith sitting on a chair during a drinks break but his teammates were also putting an ice pack on his head, such testing were the conditions for batting in the middle. Smith scored 74 off 61 and spent 89 minutes on the pitch.
Take a look at the video here:
On a difficult day for bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah conceded over 50 runs in his first 5 overs but came back brilliantly in the latter half to finish with 3/81 off his 10 overs. Kuldeep Yadav picked 2 wickets for 48 runs while Prasidh Krishna 1/45 and Mohammed Siraj 1/68 were the other wicket-takers for India.
At one stage, Australa seemed to be cruising towards the 400-run mark but a comeback of sorts from the Indian bowlers which saw them reduce the visitors from 215/1 to 345/7 has kept themselves in the game, given the wicket has been brilliant for batting. Conditions will be a lot cooler in the evening which could further help batters once they are set and have survived the new-ball spell of Australian pacers.