India’s batters came all guns blazing to notch up a mountain of runs defeating Australia by 99 runs, in the Second ODI at Indore, and taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Indian batters put a mammoth 399 runs on the board thanks to tons from Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill and a strong finish from Suryakumar Yadav, Skipper KL Rahul also chipped in with a fifty. Indian spinners tied down the Australian middle-order in the middle order and a rain-revised target made it even more difficult for the visitors. Indian fielders dropped a few catches in the field as the ball came in direct view of the floodlights as mentioned by KL Rahul later.
Taking a cue from India’s cards, Australia decided to experiment with their eleven by resting their key players, thereby effectively fielding a second-string bowling lineup and making things easier for India. This was also the last chance for fringe players from either side to show their mettle before the World Cup. Indian batters threw the kitchen sink at the underwhelming Aussie attack taking them for a ride in a small ground and flat-top wicket.
Steven Smith was captaining Australia in the absence of Pat Cummins and asked India to bat after winning the toss. Ruturaj Gaikwad, playing his last match of the series before being shipped off to the Asian Games, opened the innings by smashing the debutant Spencer Johnson for twin boundaries, before falling prey to Josh Hazlewood. Shreyas Iyer came to bat at 3, and what followed hushed any hopes Australia had in leveling the series.
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer played their signature classic shots both off pacers and spinner, getting to their respective quickfire fifties and only slowing down when they approached their hundreds. Shreyas Iyer was the first to get to his hundred off 88 balls albeit with serious cramps, but got out to Sean Abbott despite being offered a life in the same over. Shubman Gill soon notched up his 5th century of the calendar year after sneaking a quick single off Sean Abbott.
Both KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan revealed their intentions in the first few balls they faced by smashing the ball out of the park and went on to stitch a partnership of 59 runs taking India past 300. Kishan fell to Adam Zampa as soon as they crossed 300, and in came Suryakumar Yadav. Indian scoring rate seemed to dip a little bit towards the 40th over, but SKY unleashed his acrobatics and made sure the team’s score got close to 400.
Suryakumar hit 6 sixes, which included 4 sixes in an over off Cameron Green, to score 72 runs off 37 balls taking India to 399. Cameron Green got to a 100 of his own, finishing with figures of 2 for 103 in his 10 overs. Australia had a mammoth task in hand chasing a score of 400, despite Indore being a small ground with a flat wicket.
Prasidh Krishna, also playing his last game of the series, delivered a double blow to the visitors by dismissing Matthew Short and Steven Smith off consecutive balls. Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner rebuilt the innings with a few shots when the first rain interruption came in, and about 30 minutes of play was lost.
The conditions were revised, making winning even more difficult for Australia as they now needed 317 off 33 overs to keep the series alive. Soon after the rain delay, the spinners took charge and made the Australian batsman dance to their tunes. Ravichandran Ashwin picked 3-wickets thereby laying claim to a spot in the World Cup squad, his first scalp was of David Warner who was doing the most bizarre thing by batting right-handed against the off-spinner.
Ashwin outfoxed Labuschagne and Josh Inglis with a few quicker deliveries, on a pitch that seemed to offer sharp turn to the spinners unlike in the first innings. The action didn’t end there as Sean Abbott played an entertaining knock of 54 runs of just 36 balls decreasing Australia’s burden of loss.
Everyone who gets picked in the XI, needs to focus on their job. Everyone has gone through this, you need to keep getting better and wait for the opportunities – KL Rahul
Indian captain KL Rahul was speaking in the post-match presentation and said that he was happy with the performance of those slotted into the team, and addressed the sloppy fielding which was due to disturbances by the floodlights.
“We have dropped a few catches, but fielding under lights, it’s challenging physically. The coaches are doing their best to keep the guys fit. Sometimes these errors happen” said KL Rahul.
“The commitment is always there, we’ll learn from it, brush it off, and get better in the next game. Nothing is discussed, but guys coming back will want to make it count” he added.
The last match of the series would be played in Rajkot on Wednesday.
Also Read: IND vs AUS: India Sweeps The Series 2-0 With An Clinical Performance