A determined India will be eager for redemption as they aim to bounce back in the must-win second One-Day International against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 22, 2025.
Australia were clinical with both bat and ball, thrashing India by an emphatic seven wicket margin in Perth on Sunday, to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The return of senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who were back in international cricket after a seven-month hiatus, generated a lot of hype. However, the two greats struggled with Rohit scoring eight and Kohli dismissed for a duck.
The overcast conditions at the rain-effected Optus stadium proved challenging for the Indian batters.
Captain Shubman Gill struggled, caught down the leg side off pacer Nathan Ellis for 10, while Shreyas Iyer succumbed to a short ball for 11.
Axar Patel's promotion to No. 5 ahead of K L Rahul raised eyebrows. Rahul looked the most assured, scoring a quickfire 38 from 31 balls, while Axar made 31 helping India recover to post 136 after a few early wickets.
The decision to fill the team with all-rounders including Axar, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy backfired, as the latter two managed just 29 runs between them.
Reddy, in particular, has struggled to make an impression with the ball as he bowled just four overs in the West Indies Test series and 2.1 overs in the first ODI in Perth, suggesting a lack of confidence from the captain.
Kuldeep Yadav's exclusion was a big surprise considering his excellent form in the West Indies Test series and the Asia Cup. Australia's left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, who registered excellent figures of 2/26 in four overs -- including an impressive spell at the death, highlighted India's selection blunder over Kuldeep's exclusion.
Coach Gautam Gambhir's preference to bolster the batting by including all-rounders could limit Kuldeep's opportunities in white ball cricket.
However, spin great Ravichandran Ashwin slammed Kuldeep's exclusion for the first ODI, pointing out to his threat with the ball on Australia's large grounds.
'On these big grounds, if Kuldeep can't bowl with a lot of freedom, where will he bowl then? And there's going to be extra spin which will help him get bounce as well,' Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
'How many all-rounders do you need? You already have three all-rounders. There was a time when there were no all-rounders. You've got Washington, you've got Axar, and you've got Nitish. With all this, if you still can't play your best spinner, I don't get it at all.'
Kuldeep has featured in 113 games since his debut in 2017, picking up 181 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 4.99, with two five-wicket hauls. He was in red-hot form with the ball in the Asia Cup T20, claiming 17 wickets in seven matches, with two four-wicket hauls, and followed it up with 12 wickets in the two Test series against the West Indies.
Since January 2021, he has featured in 52 of the 77 ODIs played by India in which he has taken 76 wickets at an economy rate of 4.81.
Interestingly, since Kuldeep's debut in 2017, India have played seven ODIs Down Under, and the left-arm spinner has featured in only two games during the 2018-2019 series, grabbing 2/54 off 10 overs in one of the games.
What works in Kuldeep's favour is that the inexperienced Australian batting line-up featuring the likes of Matt Renshaw, Matthew Short, Josh Philippe and Cooper Connolly could struggle to pick him.
Kuldeep's ODI Record (Year by Year)
| Year | GAMES | OVERS | MAIDENS | RUNS | WICKETS | 5WI | BEST | AVERAGE | STRIKE RATE | ECONOMY RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 14 | 111.4 | 5 | 545 | 22 | 0 | 3/41 | 24.77 | 30.45 | 4.88 |
| 2018 | 19 | 172.2 | 4 | 800 | 45 | 1 | 6/25 | 17.78 | 22.98 | 4.64 |
| 2019 | 23 | 208.0 | 3 | 1110 | 32 | 0 | 4/39 | 34.69 | 39.00 | 5.34 |
| 2020 | 5 | 50.0 | 0 | 323 | 6 | 0 | 2/65 | 53.83 | 50.00 | 6.46 |
| 2021 | 4 | 38.0 | 1 | 255 | 2 | 0 | 2/48 | 127.50 | 114.00 | 6.71 |
| 2022 | 8 | 67.1 | 3 | 333 | 12 | 0 | 4/18 | 27.75 | 33.58 | 4.96 |
| 2023 | 30 | 217.4 | 13 | 1004 | 49 | 1 | 5/25 | 20.49 | 26.65 | 4.61 |
| 2024 | 3 | 30.0 | 1 | 102 | 4 | 0 | 2/33 | 25.50 | 45.00 | 3.40 |
| 2025 | 7 | 64.1 | 0 | 314 | 9 | 0 | 3/40 | 34.89 | 42.78 | 4.89 |
| Overall | 113 | 959.0 | 30 | 4,786 | 181 | 9 | 6/25 | 26.44 | 31.79 | 4.99 |
Kuldeep's ODI Record In India And Australia
| VENUE | GAMES | OVERS | MAIDENS | RUNS | WICKETS | 5WI | BEST | AVERAGE | STRIKE RATE | ECONOMY RATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Australia | 3 | 30 | 0 | 177 | 3 | 0 | 2/54 | 59.00 | 60.00 | 5.90 |
| In India | 50 | 422.5 | 10 | 800 | 78 | 0 | 4/18 | 29.89 | 32.50 | 5.51 |
In the batting, India are expected to retain the same line-up with Rohit, Kohli, Shreyas expected to continue in their respective slots. Things will only get desperate if the trio fail again in the second match and India surrender the series.
Even though Australia boast of a super head to head record, India will take confidence from their good record in Australia, having won nine out of 15 games played.
India Vs Australia In ODIs
| GAMES | WON BY INDIA | WON BY AUSTRALIA | TIED | NO RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 153 | 58 | 85 | 10 | 10 |
India's ODI Record In Australia
| GAMES | WON BY INDIA | WON BY AUSTRALIA | TIED | NO RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 40 | 54 | 2 | 4 |
India's ODI Record At Adelaide Oval
| GAMES | WON BY INDIA | WON BY AUSTRALIA | TIED | NO RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
India's ODI strength lies in their batting line-up. Kohli, Rohit, Gill and Shreyas will need to fire in unison in Adelaide to secure a vital win and keep the series alive.
Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for Thursday's second ODI against Australia?
Please select your team from the list below and do post your playing XI in the message board below:
© 2025