India vs Australia second ODI | We kept falling to Starc’s ‘strength’: Rohit to his batters

Australia won the match to level the series 1-1 and will now head to Chennai for the deciding third ODI on March 22.

A disappointed India captain Rohit Sharma on March 19, 2023 rued that his side's formidable batting line-up "kept falling to the strength" of Australia pacer Mitchell Starc instead of playing their natural game in the second ODI, which the hosts lost by 10 wickets in Visakhapatnam.

Australia won the match to level the series 1-1 and will now head to Chennai for the deciding third ODI on March 22.

Starc (5/53), who completed his ninth five-wicket haul in 109 ODI innings, wreaked havoc as Australia bundled out the home side for 117 in 26 overs after India were invited to bat first.

Australia completed the run chase in just 11 overs without losing any wicket.

Sharma said Indian batters didn't apply themselves properly, and added that it was certainly not a low-scoring pitch.

"Starc is a quality bowler. He's been doing it for years for Australia with the new ball. He kept bowling to his strength and we kept falling to his strength. That's something that we need to understand and play accordingly," Sharma said at the post-match presentation.

Sharma minced no words about the batting failure, saying that 117 was not at all a challenging total.