After consecutive losses, India will play the third ODI on October 25 in Sydney.
Australia took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match home series against India. The visitors put up a sub-par 264/9 in the first innings. Though they kept taking wickets at regular intervals in the second innings, Shubman Gill & Co. were never in the game in Adelaide.
The third and final ODI of the series is two days later, in Sydney. While there are some positives to take, the Indian team management should ponder over their playing combination and batting order, among other factors, before they take the field on October 25.
Details of India’s tour of Australia 2025
Here are three takeaways for Team India from the AUS vs IND 2nd ODI.
Put to bat first, Rohit Sharma came out to bat with the new captain, Shubman Gill. While the latter was dismissed for a run-a-ball nine, Rohit went on to amass 73 runs and was the top scorer for India. His knock included seven boundaries and two sixes. In the process, he completed 150 sixes in the SENA nations. On the other hand, Virat Kohli was out for a four-ball duck. It was a rare sight to watch Kohli walk out after consecutive ducks in a series, as he waved goodbye to the uproaring crowd.
What’s bizarre is, Adelaide has been Kohli’s happy hunting ground. Though no complaints about the contrasting forms of RoKo, it’s been more than seven months since Kohli has scored for India. The aggressive No.3 had scored two centuries in four ODIs at the same ground before he departed after another disappointment.
ALSO READ:
In the last match, Axar Patel was sent to bat at No.5, followed by KL Rahul. Though it made little sense, the promotion of Axar could’ve been due to the overcast conditions and to preserve Rahul for scoring hefty runs in the end. But when the same order was repeated in better conditions at Adelaide, it hinted at Gautam Gambhir’s policy of maintaining a left-right combination.
Rahul, primarily an opener, is second-best suited at the No.5 position. He has played 31 out of his 81 matches at the same spot and scored the maximum of his runs. It’s not always that a left-right combo would fetch the best results. Moreover, the more game time given to Rahul, the better he performs. Eventually, he was dismissed on the very next ball after hitting a boundary, undone by a disguised delivery from Adam Zampa. More than the captain and the team, GG should rethink his strategy before pushing down an in-form batter out of his comfort zone.
Harshit Rana returned wicketless in the 1st ODI. Today, he was successful with two wickets, but the Aussies tore apart the 23-year-old. He leaked 59 runs in eight overs. The right-arm fast doesn’t have much to offer, and playing only his seventh ODI, Rana is quite inexperienced. His overuse of bouncers and slower balls allowed the batters to exploit him.
On the other hand, Prasidh Krishna was benched for the two matches so far. Though the 29-year-old hasn’t played in Australia, the pace and bounce would suit the slightly more experienced bowler. Plus, Krishna has played in 70 List A matches, compared to 22 for Rana. Whether it’s a favouritism pick by the coach or not, Krishna’s profile will suit India better when they walk out to play for pride in Sydney.
After the third ODI, Australia will host India for five T20Is starting from October 29 in Canberra. It will be Rohit and Kohli’s last match before the South Africa home series in late November.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
