Australian captain Steve Smith took an absolute gem of a catch in the 2nd ODI of the series in Visakhapatnam on Sunday to get rid of the dangerous Hardik Pandya and reduce India to a precarious 49/5.

A seam-up delivery from Sean Abbott pitched on an area short of a good length and then straightened. Pandya poked at the delivery without any conviction. The ball took the thick outside edge of Pandya’s bat and flew towards slip where Smith dived full length to his right to pick up a catch just inches off the ground. The video of the catch is going viral on social media. Watch the catch here:

India vs Australia Live Score 2nd ODI Updates

India, looking to take a 2-0 lead in the series, has not got the start they wanted, with Michell Starc wreaking havoc. The Australian speedster picked up Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul in quick succession to reduce the hosts to 48/4. Abbott accounted for Pandya in the next over.

Earlier Australian captain Smith won the toss and put India in. “Different surface, been under covers for a while, might do something. Just a partnership through the middle would have helped us. It’s a good learning for us playing on these surfaces,” Smith said. For the visitors, Nathan Ellis came in for Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey replaced Josh Inglis.

For India, regular captain Rohit Sharma returned in place of Ishan Kishan, who had opened in the last match in Mumbai. India had won in the Wankhede Stadium to go one-up in the series on the back of fine performances by Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj with the ball and KL Rahul with the bat. Allrounder Axar Patel, who was in great batting form in the just-concluded Test series against Australia, got a look-in in place of pacer Shardul Thakur.

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“Pitch has been under the covers for a long time, we got to bat well and see where we are. Every game you play for India is a pressure game, so you got to stay calm and make the right decision. We have tried to remain calm in the last few ODI series we have played,” Rohit said.

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The last match of the series is going to be played in Chennai on March 22 and the three ODIs against Australia are believed to provide a good workout for Rohit’s side ahead of the prestigious ICC World Cup, which is to be held at home in October-November this year.

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