IND vs AUS: Mohammed Siraj draws first blood, sends Travis Head packing with fiery delivery in 1st ODI

India and Australia are locking horns in the first ODI of the three-match series at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 17. Indian captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to field first. Australian openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head walked out to the middle to get their team off to a flying start.

However, their hopes were crushed by Mohammed Siraj who dismissed the in-form Head in just the second over of the innings. The seamer bowled a good length delivery from over the wicket going away with the angle as the southpaw walked out of his crease to drive it through covers.

However, Head ended up getting an inside edge which went straight onto his leg stump and dismantled it. Siraj once again struck early for India and continued his brilliant form with the ball.

Watch the dismissal here:

Star Sports@StarSportsIndia

WICKET! Travis Head hears the death rattle, as @mdsirajofficial gets yet another Powerplay wicket! 😍 #TeamIndia draw first blood. 💪 Tune-in to the 1st Mastercard #INDvAUS ODI, LIVE on the Star Sports Network & Disney+Hotstar! #BelieveInBlue #Cricket

01:53 PM · Mar 17, 2023

23810

The 29-year-old is the leading wicket-taker in the ODIs since 2022 having 39 scalps to his name in 21 matches. His stupendous form with the ball has helped him climb to the top of the ICC ODI bowler’s rankings in January 2023. He currently holds the top spot with 729 rating points to his name two rating points ahead of Josh Hazlewood who sits on the second spot.

Mohammed Siraj became the sixth Indian bowler to become No. 1 in ODIs

The Hyderbad-born became the sixth Indian bowler to achieve the feat and got into the elite list which includes, Maninder Singh, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah.

The Hyderabad-born bowler was the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series against Sri Lanka played in January 2023 where he scalped nine wickets in three games at an average of 10.22. His spell of 4/32 in ten overs in the second ODI helped India register a win by the largest margin in ODI cricket as they won the game by a massive 317 runs. He further picked five wickets in two matches in the following series against New Zealand.

Coming back to the first ODI between India and Australia, after losing Head early captain Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh steadied the innings with a 54-run stand in 48 balls. After 10 overs, Australia were 59/1 with Smith (31* off 28) and Marsh ( 17* off 24) at the crease.

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store