Adelaide, October 23
Following his side's series loss to Australia, Indian skipper Shubman Gill hailed batter Rohit Sharma's knock, saying that he fought out a tough spell from Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc really well and missed out on a big knock.
Rohit's 97-ball 73 and Shreyas Iyer's 61, helped India to a solid 264/9 in 50 overs, giving fans some cheer after flop shows by skipper Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0). During the run-chase, Matt Short (74 in 78 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Cooper Connolly (61* in 53 balls, with five fours and a six) produced valuable half-centuries, and Mitchell Owen's cameo of 36 in 23 balls (with two fours and three sixes) killed the game for India as the target was chased down with two wickets in hand.
In his first assignment as an ODI captain, Gill had a tough time, losing the series 2-0.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Gill said the team had just enough runs on the board and that catch drops did not help. He also pointed out that the toss was an important one to win.
"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. In the first game, the toss was more crucial because of the rain. But in this game, I would not say that much because both the teams played for almost 50 overs. The wicket was doing a little bit more initially. But I think the wicket settled pretty nicely after 15-20 overs," said Gill.
Speaking on ex-captain Rohit's well-fought half-century, Gill said it is never easy to play competitive cricket after a long while, as it was for Rohit at one point, when he was six runs off 28 balls.
"The initial phase was very challenging. Very pleased with the way he batted. Fought out in the initial phase. I would say he missed out on a really big knock," he concluded.
Coming to the match, Australia, leading by 1-0, put India to bat first. Rohit and Shubman Gill started off cautiously, but Xaiver Bartlett (3/39) reduced India to 17/2, with quick wickets of Gill (9) and Virat (0).
Rohit put on an innings-saving 118-run stand with vice-captain Shreyas Iyer (61 in 77 balls, with seven fours). Axar also played a vital 44 in 41 balls, with five fours, continuing his fine run at number five. However, Adam Zampa (4/60) reduced India to 226/8.
A final flourish from Harshit Rana (24* in 18 balls, with three fours) and Arshdeep Singh (13) saw them add 37 runs for the ninth wicket and India ended their innings at 264/9. (ANI)
During the run-chase, Australia was reduced to 54/2, but contributions from Matt Short (74 in 78 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes), Cooper Connolly (61* in 53 balls, with five fours and a six) and Mitchell Owen (36 in 23 balls, with two fours and three sixes) always kept Australia in good position even though Washington Sundar (2/37), Arshdeep (2/41) and Harshit (2/59) produced some breakthroughs in between.
Zampa earned the 'Player of the Match' award for his four-fer. Aussies have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
- ANI
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