IND vs AUS: Who said what after the second ODI in Adelaide

Adam Zampa won Player of the Match award in the second IND vs AUS ODI.

Australian Cricket Team crushed Indian Cricket Team by two wickets in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Thursday (October 23) to seal the three-match series 2-0 with one more game left to play. Opting to bowl first, the Men in Yellow restricted India for 264/9 in the first innings, with a four-wicket haul by Adam Zampa and three wickets by pacer Xavier Bartlett.

The visitors lost two batters cheaply at the start, with captain Shubman Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0) departing in the seventh over. After that, Rohit Sharma (73) and Shreyas Iyer (61) smacked half-centuries and piled up crucial runs in the middle overs. Axar Patel (44) also made a notable contribution to the scoreboard, followed by Harshit Rana’s unbeaten 24 runs towards the end.

Indian bowlers started well by dismissing openers Mitchell Marsh (11) and Travis Head (28) early. However, they remained helpless against Matthew Short, who played a fantastic knock of 74 runs. He added crucial partnerships of 55 runs each with Matt Renshaw and Cooper Connolly to play an anchor role during the chase. After Short’s dismissal in the 36th over, Connolly took the onus to himself and drove the team to victory by two wickets with his unbeaten 61 runs.

Josh Hazlewood was unbelievable: Mitchell Marsh after Adelaide ODI

Speaking during the post-match presentation, Australia captain Marsh heaped praise on Josh Hazlewood’s performance in the clash. The right-arm pacer went wicketless in the encounter, however, he gave just 29 runs off his 10-over spell with two maidens.

“[Josh] Hazlewood was unbelievable. Our bowling unit kept trying to pick wickets. It was awesome batting (from the youngsters), the future is bright for Australian cricket. We’ll certainly enjoy the series win, won’t celebrate too much tonight. India are a fantastic side, great experience,” Marsh said.

Never easy to defend those totals when you drop a couple of catches: Shubman Gill

After facing a second consecutive defeat in his first assignment as ODI captain, Gill said that they had just enough runs to defend in the Adelaide game, however, dropped catches affected their chances for victory. Notably, the Men in Blue dropped three catches in the clash including two of Short, who eventually hammered a match-winning knock of 74 runs.

“We had just enough runs on the board. Never easy to defend those total when you drop a couple of catches. The first game, it (toss) was more crucial. Not much in this match as both teams played 50 overs. The wicket settled in nicely after 15-20 overs. (On Rohit) Never easy, coming back to play competitive cricket after a long time, I would say he missed out on a big knock,” Gill said.

Nice to beat India: Adam Zampa after winning Player of the Match award in the Adelaide ODI

Zampa, who clinched a four-wicket haul in the Adelaide ODI, was awarded Player of the Match. Speaking during the post-match presentation, the right-arm spinner said that they always face a tough challenge against India and it was nice to beat them this time. The Aussie spinner also lauded pacers Xavier Bartlett and Mitchell Starc for their crucial support in bowling.

“Nice to beat India. It’s always been a good battle against them, particularly in one-day cricket. Even in India, we’ve always tested them and they’ve come here and tested us at times as well. Two teams that have adapted to the conditions really well. They’re the best team in the world. They have been for a little while now. So, it’s great to test ourselves against them,” Zampa said.

“Those guys (pacers) have been owning powerplay for a long time. So, I have been very grateful and lucky. And then you’ve got the guys coming in, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Starc, doing their thing through the middle. It makes my job a lot easier in the middle. The beauty of Mitch (Marsh) is that he’s chilled, relaxed, never too emotional. We run our own show out there with the ball”, he concluded.

Meanwhile, Australia have sealed the three-match series after crushing the visitors in the first two games. Earlier, they won the first ODI in Perth by seven wickets (DLS method), chasing a 131-run target. Now, both sides will clash in the dead-rubber third ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney on Saturday, October 25.

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