India 340 for 6 (Dhawan 96, Rahul 80, Kohli 78, Zampa 3-50) beat Australia 304 (Smith 98, Jadeja 2-58, Yadav 2065) by 36 runs
For the second series in a row, India stayed alive having fallen 1-0 behind and lost the toss in the second, thanks again to batting full of intent that gave their bowlers a total they could defend. In doing so, they might even have found a solution to their biggest problem in ODI cricket post Yuvraj Singh: middle-order batting.
India began the series looking to find space to squeeze KL Rahul in the top order. Instead, batting at No. 5 with that experiment lasting only one match, Rahul responded with a 52-ball 80 to take India to 340 after they threatened to end up with little over 300 despite fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.
India lost wickets in two braces, which reduced them to 198 for 3 and 280 for 5, but Rahul played a part in pulling India out of strife on both occasions. If it was Adam Zampa’s analysis of 3 for 50 kept India in check, India’s spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav rocked Australia in the middle overs with two big wickets each. Jadeja kept India in the contest with tight overs and wickets of Aaron Finch and Marnus Labuschagne, and Yadav ended the chase with the strikes of Steven Smith and Alex Carey in the same over. It helped that there was no dew, something Kohli had predicted at the toss.
Smith missed out on a hundred by two runs. He wasn’t the only man to fall in the 90s. Like the openers did in the must-win match against West Indies, it was Dhawan who made India’s intent clear with a 90-ball 96. He started with a lovely straight-driven boundary first ball, and cared more about the team’s scoring rate than his century. He had scored 35 off the last 18 balls when he went to hit another boundary but managed a top edge to long leg off a Kane Richardson short ball. As he had done when setting up India’s win against Australia in the World Cup, it emerged he had batted on with a serious injury, this time a blow to the unprotected ribs. He is expected to be okay for the final game on Sunday.
Intent was apparent from the other end too with Rohit Sharma not shying from hitting in the air early on in the innings. India raced to 55 for 0 in 10 overs, and kept the run rate around six despite Sharma’s fall to Zampa. This was despite Australia looking to attack, using up Pat Cummins’ seven overs in the first 17.
Kohli made an effortless run-a-ball start to his innings, but Dhawan found a bit of a lull with the run rate dropping below six after the 20th over. In the 25th over, Ashton Agar bowled two successive dots to Kohli, but he was in no mood to take risks this early. Dhawan, though, had decided this was time for him to go. A slog sweep, a reverse sweep, and India had found the momentum again.
Dhawan’s wicket brought about a scratchy innings from Shreyas Iyer, promoted ahead of Rahul. It ended with an ugly hoick against a full Zampa delivery, putting India under pressure. Australia looked to push on, going to their wicket-takers, but Kohli and Rahul hit two boundaries each off Cummins and Mitchell Starc’s overs. – Cricinfo
