Breaking: Ambati Rayudu Reported For Suspect Bowling Action
Jan 13, 2019 at 4:46 PM
India National cricket team star Ambati Rayudu has been reported for a suspect bowling action during the first One-Day International between Australia national cricket team and India in Sydney on Saturday. The ICC, on Sunday, confirmed that the match officials’ report has been given to the Indian team management. The officials have cited their concerns about the legality of the 33-year-old off-spinner’s bowling action.
The 33-year-old part-time offspinner will now be required to undergo testing within 14 days. However, he is permitted to continue bowling in international cricket until the results of the testing come out.
The latest knock has further piled misery on Rayudu who was out for a duck in the first ODI. India, meanwhile, lost the game by 34 runs. The Men in Blue rarely looked in contention to chase down the total. Chasing 288, the visitors were off to a poor start. Even before the spectators could take their seats for the second innings, India’s innings was in tatter. Jason Behrendorff and Jhye Richardson ran riot early on to reduce India to 4 for 3, dismissing Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ambati Rayudu cheaply.
MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma then steadied the ship. With too much pressure on them, they did not go for the shots at all and just relied on occasional boundaries. However, as the innings progressed the two opened their arms and reached their consecutive fifties. But their 137-run stand ended in a disappointing manner when umpire Michael Gough gave a wrong decision to adjudge Dhoni lbw. The former India skipper departed after scoring 51 off 96 balls.
But unlike Dhoni, Rohit stayed firm and went on to score a stunning ton to keep India in the chase. However, he lost partners at regular intervals. With the required rate mounting, Rohit finally departed after scoring 133 off 129 balls. India eventually ended on 254 for 9.
Earlier in the game, Australia recovered from a shaky start to score a competitive 288 for 5 in the allotted 50 overs. Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb starred with the bat, scoring fifties while Marcus Stoinis provided the finishing touches with an unbeaten 47.