Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was surprised by Mitchell Marsh‘s clever response to his question directed at the Australian all-rounder. After a challenging start of three matches, Australia has finally secured their first victory in the 2023 World Cup. They defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets, with Mitchell Marsh’s explosive half-century setting the tone. Marsh scored 51 runs from 39 balls, becoming Australia’s first player to achieve a half-century in this World Cup.
Despite early setbacks with the dismissals of David Warner and Steve Smith, Marsh’s quick innings played a crucial role in holding the innings together, especially after a significant collapse that saw Sri Lanka tumble from 125/0 to 209 all out.
Sunil Gavaskar and Mitchell Marsh shared a light-hearted moment after the match
Following the game, Marsh and former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar engaged in a playful conversation about Marsh’s aggressive batting style.
Gavaskar noticed the significant contrast in batting approach between Marsh and his father, Geoff Marsh, who had a much lower strike rate of 55.33 across 117 ODIs, in contrast to his son’s impressive 93.85. This observation highlighted the differing playing styles within the father-son duo.
“Didn’t your father ever teach you to play like this? (gestures with a defensive shot) Because all you’re doing is BANG, BANG, BANG,” said Gavaskar after the match, but quickly received a hilarious reply from Marsh. “I’m just making up for his poor strike-rates”.
The victory over Sri Lanka was essential for Australia as they aim to build the momentum needed to reach the World Cup semifinals. If they succeed in winning the tournament, Mitchell Marsh and Geoff Marsh would create history as the first father-son duo to win a World Cup. Marsh Sr. had won the 1987 edition in India. Mitchell Marsh expressed satisfaction with his fifty and seemed poised for a substantial innings before being run out due to a remarkable throw by Chamika Karunaratne.
“The boys are calling me Usain Bolt. Felt like one of those dreams where you’re running back for a run but you can’t run. But yeah, it was a really good day for us. We came into this game under a little bit of pressure after a slow start but it was a complete performance. There was plenty of hurt. We came here with high expectations of wanting to get off to a good start,” he added.
“Truth is, we played against some really good sides and were a little off the mark. In these big tournaments, you can’t afford to and probably today hopefully is a stepping stone in the right direction for us,” Mitchell Marsh concluded.
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