Fans who want live cricket scores and streaming video from the India vs. Australia match will be in luck with plenty of ways to follow the third One-Day International match on the Internet.
The game will be a critical one for India, which lost their second match earlier this week to fall behind 2-0 in the best-of-five series. Australia set a new run-chase record in Brisbane, winning even after India made 308-8 from their 50 overs and Rohit Sharma hitting 124.
Australia came charging back behind Aaron Finch and Shaun March, who put up a 145-run stand.
Australia set record against India https://t.co/ZpmwZhVaBx #cricket
— Cricket News One (@CricketNewsOne) January 15, 2016
Sunday’s game starts at 2:20 p.m. local time (3:20 a.m. GMT) from Melbourne.
Wasted in the loss was Sharma’s amazing performance, the BBC noted:
“He became only the third batsman, after England’s Graeme Hick and India’s VVS Laxman, to score back-to-back ODI centuries against the Aussies in Australia.
“He also became the first Indian batsman to score four ODI centuries on Australian soil, overtaking Laxman’s three.
“Rohit shared a second-wicket stand of 135 with Virat Kohli (51), while Ajinkya Rahane chipped in with 89 as India attempted to set Australia a testing target.”
Many cricket commentators are now wondering why MS Dhoni’s men are struggling so much, despite the strong performances. Khurram Habib of the Hindustan Times wrote that Rohit’s wasted effort, with some questionable batting decisions, was a huge part of why they lost yet again.
“On Friday, by the time he was dismissed as the third wicket, it was already the 43rd over but India had got to just 255,” he wrote. “In the first game he carried the bat India finished with 309/3. Would he be better off going for quick runs after reaching seventies or hundred instead of hanging around and not give time to other batsmen? India don’t need big hundreds, they need quick fifties. In the first game, Rohit took 16 balls to get to 100 from 90, in the second, he took 18 balls to get to 100 from 90.”
India has also struggled to get production out of their lower order, Habib added. This includes Dhoni, Manish Pandey, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Some have also pointed to Dhoni, who has struggled in recent matches with some of his lineups and decision-making.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni Struggling But Give Him Time, Says Sunil Gavaskar: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s poor form conti… https://t.co/NH8FATCcj0
— Kashi khan (@bst_cricket) January 15, 2016
Habib also questioned Dhoni’s decision to use spinners, who, though effective in the World Cup last year, have struggled on good batting surfaces. That has allowed the Australian batters to hit well in the middle overs without losing wickets.
But, there are others who stand behind the captain, noting his past efforts including leading the team to the semifinals of the World Cup. They also note that there is plenty of blame to go around between all the players, many of whom have struggled during the recent stretch of losses.
Projected rosters: Australia Squad SPD Smith*, GJ Bailey, SM Boland, JP Faulkner, AJ Finch, JR Hazlewood, UT Khawaja, MR Marsh, SE Marsh, GJ Maxwell, JS Paris, KW Richardson, MS Wade†, DA Warner
India Squad MS Dhoni*†, R Ashwin, R Dhawan, S Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh, RA Jadeja, V Kohli, B Kumar, MK Pandey, AR Patel, AM Rahane, I Sharma, RG Sharma, BB Sran, UT Yadav
Those who want to watch the India vs. Australia cricket match live online can click here for streaming video. Fans who want to follow the live cricket score will have a few options, with ESPNcricinfo offering commentary and continually updated stats and scores. There is also a new site joining the fray, with Fox Sports beefing up its cricket coverage in recent months.
[Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images]