A batting average of nearly 95 from six ODIs, boosted by the two not outs in Kolkata and Indore, may be a bit too flattering, but it is giving 29-year-old Marcus Stoinis a feeling of belonging at the highest level
Sunil Gavaskar is not the type to dish out praise when it's not been earned. So when he remarked during the third India-Australia ODI at Indore on Sunday that the two finds of the series until now was Hardik Pandya for India and Marcus Stoinis for Australia, it naturally meant that the two had done something right. Pandya, of course, has the better bragging rights, having contributed to India's winning cause in all games, be it with bat or ball or both. But Stoinis, who should normally have played second fiddle to someone likes James Faulkner, has grabbed his chances or at the very least not harmed them for the near future.
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Marcus Stoinis
A batting average of nearly 95 from six ODIs, boosted no doubt thanks to the two not outs in Kolkata and Indore, may be a bit too flattering but at least its giving the 29-year-old a feeling of belonging at the highest level. Speaking to the media here ahead of the fourth ODI on Thursday, Stoinis was asked if he was feeling comfortable at this level.
"The only I can answer is to say that I am enjoying the pressure and I am enjoying the opportunities. Obviously I am still young in international cricket. The pressure can get you at times at this level. But I am enjoying the chances, chance do something under pressure," he said. Having picked two for 54 at Chennai and then sending down 10 overs for 46 in Kolkata (he went for 61 from 8 in Indore), Stoinis has showed the ability to adapt to Indian conditions with the ball too.
"I think being a batsman helps," he said, quickly adding: "I got hit in the last game, so it doesn't always help." He then explained how his ability to bat helped him with the ball. "In One-Day cricket, you're trying to read the situation and read the batsmen. I'm pretty much trying to think about what I'd be doing in this situation – where I don't want to get hit, where I don't want to take a risk."
With the series being lost, the next two games could allow the likes of Stoinis to play that much more freely and set themselves up for the coming series like the Ashes.
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