India managed to push Australia towards the end, but the hosts secured the three-match ODI series 2-0 by. Australia won the match by two wickets. While India showed improvement compared to the first ODI, morning conditions favored the bowlers, with swing and seam making life difficult for the batters.Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl first. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Xavier Bartlett made life difficult for the Indian top order.
Captain Shubman Gill fell cheaply, and Virat Kohli registered another duck. Rohit Sharma weathered the early storm and tried to accelerate but was dismissed for 73. Shreyas Iyer contributed a valuable 61 and put on a solid 118-run stand for the third wicket with Rohit Sharma.Starc broke the stand by removing Rohit for a hard-working 73 off 96 balls. Shreyas scored 61 off 77 balls, but Adam Zampa cleaned him up and also knocked over KL Rahul in quick succession. Axar Patel played a neat knock but lacked support, with Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy failing to deliver.After Iyer’s wicket, India lost momentum. They were reeling at 226/8 and slipping in the death overs, but a brilliant fightback from Harshit Rana (24* off 18) and Arshdeep Singh (13 off 14), adding a 37-run ninth-wicket stand, helped India reach 264/9 in 50. overs.For Australia, Zampa finished with 4/60, Bartlett finished with 3/39, and Starc picked up 2/62. Hazlewood went wicketless but conceded only 29 runs in his 10 overs.Australia’s chase began cautiously.Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh took their time, but Marsh fell early, followed by Head, who was dismissed by Harshit Rana.Matt Short and Matthew Renshaw then steadied the innings with timely boundaries. India’s fielding lapses allowed Short to reach his fifty after being dropped twice.
Poll
Did India’s performance improve compared to the first ODI?
Once Short fell, Mitchell Owen attempted to finish the game quickly, while Cooper Connolly batted like a seasoned campaigner at the other end, reaching his maiden ODI fifty.Despite losing the quick wickets of Xavier Bartlett and Owen, Connolly carried Australia over the line to seal the win.This was India’s first defeat in six ODIs at Adelaide Oval since 2008.
