Adelaide, October 23
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh heaped praise on his side's bowling unit, especially veteran pacer Josh Hazlewood, following their ODI series win in Adelaide on Thursday. Hazlewood produced a remarkable spell of control, finishing with figures of 0/29 in 10 overs, which included two maidens, at an economy rate of just 2.90.
Giving credit to the senior pacer, Marsh said, "Josh Hazlewood took the best none-for I've ever seen. He was unbelievable. I thought the whole bowling unit kept trying to take wickets. We were outstanding."
"It's been awesome. I said to the boys in Perth that it is pretty rare to play in front of big crowds in ODI cricket. So, yes, it's been an awesome turnout for both games," he added.
The Australian skipper lauded the team's youngsters for stepping up under pressure.
Referring to Mitchell Owen's aggressive cameo of 36 off 23 balls, Marsh said he is going to start calling the batter "Chaos Owen".
"It was awesome, awesome batting."
He was equally impressed with Cooper Connolly's composed knock of 61* off 53 balls that guided Australia to chase a target of 265.
"I think Cooper's 21. The future is bright for Australia. I've got eyes for him," he noted.
"I will certainly have a beer and enjoy a series win but it's a pretty quick turnaround. So, I won't celebrate too much tonight. India are a fantastic side -- incredible players with great experience. It's going to be a great experience for our young guys to play against the best," he added.
Coming to the match, Australia, leading the series 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.
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, with one more game to be played in Sydney.
- ANI
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