Adelaide (TIP)- Australia continued their domination over India with a two-wicket victory in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, Oct 23. The Aussies chased down the 265-run target with 22 balls to spare and two wickets in hand.
Though Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana dismissed Mitchell Marsh (11) and Travis Head (28) early in the run-chase, a 55-run stand between Matthew Short (74) and Matt Renshaw (30) kept the Aussies in the hunt. After their dismissals, Mitchell Owen, in his first ODI innings, hit 3 sixes and 2 fours in his 23-ball 36 before Washington Sundar had him caught by Arshdeep Singh at long-on. Owen put up a 59-run stand off 39 balls with Cooper Connolly to take the match away from India’s grasp.
The dismissals of Xavier Bartlett and Mitchell Starc added a late twist in the innings but Connolly, who reached his maiden ODI fifty off 42 balls, stayed unbeaten on 61 off 53 balls, with a six and 5 fours, to take his team to victory and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma combined a lot of grit with some grace to produce a potentially career-extending 73 on a spicy track that served as the foundation for India’s total of 264/9.
Despite losing captain Shubman Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0) in quick succession, India managed a respectable total thanks to Rohit’s 97-ball effort and his 118-run partnership for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer (61 off 77 balls).
Axar Patel (44 off 41 balls) also added some crucial runs before Arshdeep Singh (13) and Harshit Rana (24 not out) put up 37 off 29 balls for the ninth wicket, pushing the team total beyond 260.
Adam Zampa took 4 for 60 while most of the batters who attempted to attack him were dismissed. Additionally noteworthy was Xavier Bartlett (3/39 in 10 overs), who claimed a maiden over and the valuable scalp of Kohli.
In the Powerplay, Rohit had to weather many nerve-wracking moments as Josh Hazlewood (0/29 in 10 overs, including two maidens) made the ball talk, thus the Indian innings was all about his tenacity. At one point, Rohit played 17 straight dot balls off Hazlewood, and the lateral movement and underlying dampness made both him and Iyer appear extremely cautious.
While Kohli was preparing to play an outswinger, Bartlett’s delivery caused one to move in swiftly, and the maestro was caught plumb in front. As he left the field, he said thanks to the fans in Adelaide, where he had amassed several Test hundreds and a World Cup century against Pakistan. Kohli departed the field, waving his gloves for the Adelaide fans who were most likely seeing his last moments, while Rohit was given much-needed breathing room.
Rohit focused on consolidation and keeping the bat close to his body throughout the first fifty or so balls. He tried to leave the deliveries on the length and took a few on the body. Mitchell Starc’s flicked boundary over square leg was the only successful shot of that phase.
Playing back-to-back traditional pick-up pulls off Mitchell Owen’s amiable medium pacers was the first time one saw Rohit getting into his zone. With Iyer rotating the strike and India scoring 17 from that over, the scoreboard began to move and gain pace.
The swivel he lost off his hips while attempting to put Starc over the square leg boundary proved to be his undoing, but there was still time for a 33rd ODI hundred.
Be the first to comment