India reached 264 for nine in their 50 overs against Australia in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, a total, steadied by a late fightback after a mid-innings collapse. Fifties from Rohit Sharma, 73 and Shreyas Iyer, 61 steadied the innings following early losses, but Australia's bowlers, led by Adam Zampa, 4/60 and Xavier Bartlett, 3/39, pegged India back before a late partnership added valuable runs.
India's innings started poorly after being put in to bat. Captain Shubman Gill fell for nine in the seventh over, providing a catch to Mitchell Marsh off Bartlett. The major blow came just balls later when Virat Kohli was trapped lbw by Bartlett for a four-ball duck; his second consecutive duck in the series and, the first in his ODI career to record back-to-back noughts.
Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer then combined for a crucial 100-run partnership to rebuild the innings. Rohit anchored the recovery, reaching his 59th ODI fifty and becoming India’s third-highest run-getter in the format. Shreyas also reached a well-compiled half-century. However, the partnership was broken when Rohit mistimed a pull shot off Mitchell Starc and was caught in the deep for 73 off 97 balls.
Rohit's departure triggered a collapse. Shreyas was bowled by Adam Zampa for 61 shortly after. KL Rahul, 11 was also bowled by Zampa, followed by Axar Patel, 44, caught brilliantly by Starc off Zampa, and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8, stumped off the leg-spinner. Washington Sundar, 12 also fell to Bartlett, leaving India struggling at 226/8.
A ninth-wicket partnership of 37 runs between Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh helped push India past the 250-mark. Arshdeep hit a couple of boundaries off Starc before being bowled in the final over. Josh Hazlewood bowled an economical spell for Australia, finishing wicketless but conceding just 29 runs in his 10 overs. Australia will now need to chase 265 to clinch the series.
