In the wake of his blunder during the World Cup opener against India, Mitchell Marsh faces increased scrutiny from his critics, a situation he’s no stranger to. Four years ago, he openly acknowledged, “Most of Australia hate me.” Despite that, Marsh had been riding a wave of popularity recently due to his impressive form, even garnering speculation as a potential permanent Australia captain after his successful stint in that role during the white-ball tour of South Africa. With high expectations heading into the match against India, things took a disastrous turn for Marsh at the M A Chidambaram Stadium.
Mitch Marsh’s misfortune began when he became the first Australian wicket to fall, scoring a six-ball duck, as Kohli made a remarkable catch at slip off Jasprit Bumrah’s delivery. Australia’s batting lineup struggled, posting a below-par total of 199. However, their bowlers, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, brought intensity to the game. For the first time in a one-day international, three of India’s top four batters were dismissed for a duck, and Hazlewood played a significant role in this.
In a pivotal moment, Kohli, with only 12 runs to his name, mistimed his pull shot, giving Marsh an opportunity to redeem himself. As he sprinted from the leg side to make the catch, he was distracted by wicketkeeper Alex Carey approaching from the other side, resulting in a dropped chance. Kohli capitalized on this reprieve, going on to score 85 and forming a match-winning partnership of 165 runs with K L Rahul, who remained unbeaten at 97.
Hazlewood defended Marsh, stating that the attempted catch was rightfully his. He explained, “I think it was Mitch’s catch and probably just Carey got quite close in the end, so it might have just put Mitch off. It’s one of those things that happens, and everyone’s training hard and working hard off the field to hang on to them.”
Despite the costly mistake sparking memes on social media, Australia’s captain Pat Cummins stood by Marsh, saying, “I’ve already forgotten about it.” India went on to win by six wickets with 52 balls remaining. Looking ahead, five-time champions Australia are set to face South Africa on Thursday.
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