'Just a bit of an empty feeling'- Marcus Stoinis after close loss in Nagpur

Barring his dismissal in the final over, Marcus Stoinis did nothing wrong in the second ODI against India. On a pitch where stroke-making was extremely difficult especially for the visitors, Stoinis oozed class with his calm and calculated knock. Australia had started their pursuit of 250 on a strong note with their openers Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch adding 83 runs for the first wicket.

However, the reigning world champions soon lost four quick wickets to find themselves reeling at 133 for 4. With the likes of Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell as well as Khawaja back in the hut, it looked all over for Australia. However, Stoinis was not ready to throw in the towel yet as he waged a lone battle to keep his side in contention. While wickets kept on falling from one end, he made sure to keep the scoreboard ticking as he took the game deep. In the process, he also completed his fifty.

The equation was finally down to 11 off the final over and Stoinis was up against inexperienced Vijay Shankar. But he was deceived by a slower delivery from Shankar on the very first ball and Australia went on to lose the game by 8 runs. The loss, nonetheless, only extended Stoinis’ dubious record. Stoinis has so far scored 6 fifties and one century in his 26-match ODI career. But unfortunately, Australia have lost every game where their all-rounder managed to cross the 50-run mark.

And just like many, Stoinis himself does not know how to react to another close loss as he admitted he was having an ’empty feeling’ after the loss. “Just a bit of an empty feeling coming to the end of the game,” Stoinis was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Wednesday.

“We did well, fought hard, got close but we didn’t get the result we wanted. Hindsight is a beautiful thing … you think if this partnership goes longer or you take a risk earlier (what would have happened), all that sort of stuff. You never know what’s going to happen.”

“We haven’t had a debrief yet … when emotions are going it’s probably best to let that settle then have a more relaxed conversation the next day,” he added.

Praise for MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli:

Stoinis also praised Indian duo, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. While Dhoni, who had scored four consecutive fifties against Australia this year, failed to get going in Nagpur, Kohli scored a sublime century.

“Virat and MS play very different roles, but they make sure they get the job done for the team,” Stoinis said before adding: “Two of the best players in the world … so there’s things to learn from them and it’s probably fortunate we’re playing them so frequently leading up to a World Cup.”

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