India thrashed Australia by 99 runs via the DLS method in the the second one-day international of the three-match series at Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday. With the win, India have wrapped up the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Australia were set a revised target of 317 in 33 overs against India after rain disrupted the proceedings. Chasing India’s mammoth 399, Australia were 56/2 with as many as 11 overs were lost due to the rain interruption.
It was the second instance as rain had interrupted play during India’s innings as well when the hosts were at 79 for one in 9.5 overs.
Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets each.
Australia lost two wickets for just nine runs and were 56-2 when rain interrupted play for over an hour and the tourists resumed with a new target.
David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne attempted to rebuild in their stand of 80 but the wheels came off the chase after their departure.
Ashwin broke the stand and then struck twice in one over to send back the left-handed Warner and Josh Inglis.
Green attempted to hit back but was run out, before Abbott led an unexpected charge with his 36-ball 54.
Number eight Abbott put on a ninth-wicket stand of 77 with Josh Hazlewood, who made 23.
Earlier, Shubman Gill continued his sensational run with a fifth ODI hundred of the year while Shreyas Iyer hit a timely ton under pressure to fire India to a record 399 for five against Australia in the second game here on Sunday.
Gill (104 off 97 balls) and Iyer (105 off 90 balls) shared a stroke-filled 200-run stand off 164 balls after Ruturaj Gaikwad (8) missed out on a batting beauty.
Suryakumar Yadav (72 not out off 37 balls) and skipper KL Rahul (52 off 38 balls) plundered a pedestrian looking Australian attack in the death overs to provide the final flourish for India.
The last 10 overs yielded 103 runs as India racked up their highest-ever total against Australia in ODIs.
The Holkar Stadium tends to produce high-scoring games and Sunday’s game proved no exception.
Gill’s peerless form is an ominous reminder to rivals ahead of next month’s World Cup.
It was a second consecutive ODI hundred for the 24-year-old at this venue, having hammered 112 off 78 balls against New Zealand earlier this year when India ended with a match-winning 395.
Unlike Iyer, Gill began slowly on Sunday, collecting nine off his first 19 balls before going after the Aussie bowlers with disdain.
He was unstoppable after his first strike which was a straight six off pacer Sean Abbott in the ninth over.
Cameron Green tried a short one against Gill who was happy to pull him away for a six over fine leg. But the rain caused a 40-minute delay, putting a temporary halt to the entertainment.
Both Gill and Iyer, who struggled with cramps towards the end of his innings, continued to find boundaries after resumption.
The highlight of Gill’s knock was how frequently he danced down the track against the fast bowlers while Iyer’s aggressive intent from ball one stood out in a scenario where he was desperately searching for runs.
Both Iyer and Gill got their half-centuries with straight sixes, off debutant Spencer Johnson and Green respectively.
Conditions were ideal for the batters but Australian attack, missing the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, looked short on ideas. Lead spinner Adam Zampa too could not stem the flow of runs.
Iyer was the first to complete the century, his third in ODIs, while Gill got to the milestone, his sixth in the format, 19 balls later.
When both the batters departed, Rahul and Kishan (31 off 18) played some bold strokes to up the scoring rate.
Suryakumar, who had to change his game in the previous match to adapt to the needs of ODI cricket, came out to bat in the 41st over.
In the T20 context, it was an ideal time for him to come and explore his 360 range from ball one. He did just that to power India to a formidable total.
His innings included four sixes in a row off Green in the 44th over. The towering pacer conceded 103 runs in his 10 overs, so symbolic of their wretched outing with the ball on the day.
Trailing 0-1 in the series, Australia had opted to field. The final ODI is on Wednesday in Rajkot.
(With inputs from Agencies)