Can Marcus Stoinis do nothing wrong? Not only is he one of the most exciting all-rounders in world cricket right now, he is as dependable to boot. In the 2nd ODI between India and Australia yesterday, the 29-year-old kept the visitors runchase alive.
But the all-rounder could not stick around to finish the match as he got out in the final over to a ball from Vijay Shankar.
This was Stoinis’ 6th ODI half-century, and 7th 50-plus score. Six of these have come in the second innings. There seems to be a pattern here since even his maiden century went in vain, as New Zealand took home the trophy at the end of a thrilling match.
Here’s a look at the all-rounder’s score card that has been called ‘unlucky’ by some:
146* vs New Zealand, 2017
62* vs India, 2017
60 vs England, 2017
56 vs England, 2018
87 vs England, 2018
63 vs South Africa, 2018
52 vs India, 2018
Only one of the above knocks came early on, in the first innings. The rest were scored by Stoinis while while chasing. It’s almost like he’s Australia’s Michael Bevan, but in reverse. Whereas Bevan mostly ensured that the team goes past the finish line, Stoinis has been unfortunate in all of his attempts.
However this isn’t an unusual trend. There are many legends who scored 50 plus scores in a losing cause. For example, former Australian skipper Steven Waugh had 50-plus scores 18 times, while India’s cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar made a half century 49 times in a match we lost.
The similarities between Stoinis and other end here however. Unlike the others, Stoinis does not have even one 50-plus score in matches his team won in ODIs. The 29-year-old has played 26 ODIs and Australia have won only four of them.
On the plus side, his batting average multiplies threefold while chasing (70.50) in comparison to first innings (23.09) so perhaps we’ll see him break his own track record soon enough.
Fun fact: Stoinis plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) under Virat Kohli in this Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Kohli would surely wouldn’t want his new recruit’s losing record chasing after him in IPL as well.
ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah Fever Takes Over Hong Kong, Another Kid Perfects His Bowling Action
ALSO WATCH:
