Adelaide: The India vs Australia series was initially centered around the anticipated return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to international cricket after a seven-month hiatus. However, the Australian team has quickly dampened this narrative by sealing the series in Adelaide, marking Shubman Gill’s debut ODI series as captain with a loss before its conclusion. In the second ODI, Australia chased down a target of 265 runs, losing eight wickets but maintaining a sense of control throughout the chase. This defeat marked India’s first ODI loss in Adelaide since 2008.
Key contributions for the home side came from Cooper Connolly and Matthew Short, both of whom scored crucial half-centuries, with Connolly remaining unbeaten and hitting the winning runs. Mitchell Owen also added significant runs, making 36 off just 23 balls, as Australia completed their innings in the 47th over.
Despite India’s bowlers making notable contributions and securing regular wickets, the target was not substantial enough to apply pressure on the Australian side. Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Washington Sundar each took two wickets for India, yet their efforts fell short.
Earlier in the match, India lost the toss for the 17th consecutive ODI and was forced to bat first under challenging conditions. Early wickets fell as Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli were dismissed for nine and zero runs, respectively. Rohit Sharma, however, withstood the pressure and played a commanding innings, scoring 73 runs before being dismissed by Mitchell Starc. This innings marked Sharma’s 59th fifty in ODIs and elevated him to become India’s third-highest run-scorer in ODI history, surpassing Sourav Ganguly.
Shreyas Iyer also contributed a crucial half-century, but his dismissal during a precarious moment left India in a difficult position at 223/8, despite a valuable cameo of 44 runs from Axar Patel. Nevertheless, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana’s efforts in the final overs helped India reach a total of 265 runs. Adam Zampa was a standout performer for Australia, claiming four wickets upon his return after missing the series opener. Ultimately, Australia’s comprehensive performance secured them the series victory.
