India succumb to series defeat Down Under as Australia run away with thrilling win in second ODI

India suffered their second straight defeat Down Under as Australia secured the ODI series with a game to spare, courtesy of a thrilling two-wicket win in Adelaide. Despite a battle to savour that oscillated between the teams, the Men in Blue eventually fell short, owing to a Cooper Connolly masterclass that steered the hosts across the finishing line.

Put into bat first, India lost a couple of big wickets early in the form of Shubman Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0). However, the visitors soon picked up momentum as Rohit Sharma (73) and Shreyas Iyer (61) took over the reins. The two added 118 runs for the third wicket, offering a glimpse of hope to the Indian team before Mitchell Starc finally managed to get the better of Sharma.

Iyer fell in quick succession, allowing Australia to bounce back strongly. KL Rahul (11) couldn’t get into his signature stride as Adam Zampa knocked back his off stump. Axar Patel (44) started the Indian fightback, but he was left to rue the minimal support from the other end.

Reduced to 226/8, it seemed as if India would fold for a below par score. However, much to everyone’s shock, Harshit Rana came out firing on all cylinders. Thanks to his unbeaten 24 off just 18 balls and a solid stand with Arshdeep Singh (13) at the other end, India totted up 264/9. Adam Zampa was the pick of the Aussie lot with figures of 4/60 while Xavier Bartlett was impressive too as he registered numbers of 3/39.

India did get off to a fine start with the ball, removing the Player of the Match in the last game, Mitchell Marsh, for just 11 through Arshdeep Singh. Travis Head (28) fell in quick succession too but it wasn’t really enough for India to capitalise on the early momentum.

Matt Short (74) and Matt Renshaw looked solid (30) as the duo added 55 runs for the third wicket. Eventually Axar Patel broke through, taking one away from the latter as the ball went onto crash into the leg stump. Washington Sundar got the better of an incoming Alex Carey (9) to open up another portal of opportunity for the Indian team.

Sadly, Cooper Connolly’s arrival and Mitchell Owen's cameo dashed all Indian hopes, taking the game away from the visitors gradually. India came in with a late revival, claiming the crucial wickets of Owen (36), Xavier Bartlett (3) and Mitchell Starc (4) in quick succession. However, that wasn’t enough for the Men in Blue to force a result in their favour as Connolly sealed the deal for Australia with two wickets to spare.

Zampa bagged the Player of the Match award for his fine performance with the ball.