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Australia make Short work of the ODI series
The Australia No.3 top-scored with 74 and received a big helping hand from Connolly as the hosts took a 2-0 lead
Kolkata: Matthew Short made India pay for two dropped catches before Cooper Connolly scored an unbeaten fifty to guide Australia to a two-wicket win in the second ODI at Adelaide Oval and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
For the first time in his ODI career did Virat Kohli fall for consecutive ducks before Rohit Sharma survived a tumultuous start to score his 59th ODI fifty. He added 118 runs with Shreyas Iyer but in the absence of anyone batting for large swathes of the innings, India could only finish with 264 after Adam Zampa stalled the scoring with four vital wickets.
Chasing under lights proved to be difficult, with Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head sent back within 13 overs, but Australia grafted small partnerships to chip away at the total. Matt Renshaw and Short added 55, before Carey helped stitch another 55-run stand with Short.
By then India were guilty of giving Short two lives — Axar Patel dropping him on 23 at point before Mohammad Siraj spilled a dolly in the 29th over with the batter on 55. Siraj finally redeemed himself by holding on to Short’s attempted six in the deep but Connolly and Mitchell Owen then added 59 runs for the sixth wicket to deflate India’s hopes of a comeback.
It was a win for Australia but India might feel the pinch after failing to convert a cautious start that saw them scoring 150 in 31.5 overs.
Within an over though, Iyer was dismissed by Zampa after he dragged him on to his stumps after being lured by a tossed up delivery. KL Rahul, who was again sent behind Patel at No 6, then was bowled by Zampa after he tried to pull a short delivery that skidded under his bat to rattle his stumps.
This wasn’t a pitch where batters could play their shots from the get go. Which is why the slowdown in India’s scoring was inevitable once Iyer and Rahul were dismissed. From 150 to 200 India consumed 51 balls, while the next 50 runs came in 43 balls.
The only two sixes hit in India’s innings came off Sharma’s bat, which is why it was crucial that he batted on as long as possible. Rarely has Sharma struggled like this though against the new ball.
Josh Hazlewood picked off from where he had left off in Perth, making the ball move both ways to sow doubt in Sharma’s mind. Starting with two maidens, Hazlewood extracted a number of false shots from Sharma—pinning him down with 17 deliveries without a run—but failed to get a breakthrough.
Normally aggressive in the first Powerplay, Sharma was forced to either block or heave away without much results. He was almost run out in the third over by a direct throw from Owen before an inside edge saved him from a plumb lbw.
That pressure had a telling effect on new captain Shubman Gill who skipped down the pitch to be brilliantly caught at cover. In came Kohli who lasted just four deliveries before he was trapped leg-before by Xavier Bartlett. Kohli consulted Sharma on taking the DRS, but eventually walked off to a warm applause.
So backbreaking were these dismissals that Sharma had to deliver something. And it eventually came in the 19th over when he pulled Owen over deep backward square leg for a massive six. Two balls later, Owen dropped short again, prompting Sharma to pull him again off the front foot. And when he went low to sweep Zampa for a four through backward square leg, the crowd had finally found its voice.
The fifty came with a single off Connolly, but this was his slowest half-century since 2015. Sharma started to slowly improve his strike rate, trickling boundaries and nudging singles to keep the scoreboard moving. Till Starc got Australia the breakthrough, pitching short on leg and getting Sharma to pull it to Hazlewood who moved to his right at long leg to catch it.
A big reason why the chase almost lasted 50 overs was the way Siraj and Arshdeep kept the scoring in check with tight lines in the Powerplay. Marsh was caught trying to go for a huge heave, before Travis Head fell for an uncharacteristic 40-ball 28.
It set up a tantalising chase but India’s bowling lacked the bite to keep Australia at bay. Patel and Sundar were quietly effective in the middle overs, dismissing Renshaw and Carey respectively, but India’s sloppy fielding allowed Short to stitch vital partnerships that eventually cast them out of the game.
