Half-centuries from Matt Short and Cooper Connolly helped Australia beat India by two wickets in the second one-day international at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday to clinch the three-match series 2-0.
Chasing 265 for victory, the hosts recovered from 54 for two as Short (74) and Connolly (61) shared a key stand to steady the innings. Mitchell Owen’s late 36 off 23 balls ensured Australia crossed the line in 46.2 overs despite a late wobble.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma (73) and Shreyas Iyer (61) guided India to 264 for nine after early blows from Xavier Bartlett, who dismissed Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli in the same over. Adam Zampa took 4-60 to restrict India, who added 66 runs in the final 10 overs.
Australia’s chase began slowly before Short’s fluent innings and Connolly’s counterattack tilted the match in their favour. India’s bowlers fought back through Washington Sundar and Arshdeep Singh, who took two wickets each, but could not prevent defeat.
This is Indian captain's Shubman Gill's first series loss as ODI skipper.
Gill has joined the likes of KL Rahul, Mohammed Azharuddin, Kris Srikkanth, Dilip Vengasarkar and Ajit Wadekar to become the sixth Indian captain to lose the first two ODIs in charge.
The 26 year old rued the dropped catches, which ultimately cost India the match and the series.
'We had just enough runs on the board. Never easy when you drop a couple of chances to be able to defend that kind of a total,” Gill said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
'In the first game, the toss was more crucial because of the rain, but in this one both teams played for almost 50 overs. The wicket did a little early on, but it settled nicely after 15–20 overs,' he added on the pitch.
Australia will aim for a clean sweep in the final ODI at Melbourne on Sunday.
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