Adelaide ODI: Rohit Iyer fifties, Rana's cameo powers India to 264/9 against Australia

Adelaide [Australia], October 23 (ANI): Hard-fought fifties from Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and cameos from Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh in the back end push India to close on 264/9 after early setbacks against Australia in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

India added 66 runs in the final 10 overs. The duo of Rana and Singh added vital 37 runs for the ninth wicket to push India towards a respectable total.

India's opening pair, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, started the innings to build a stable partnership and give the visitors much-needed momentum after their loss in the series opener.

Rohit Sharma struggled to put bat on ball off Josh Hazlewood, making zero runs in his first two overs. Rohit scored only six runs off his first 20 balls, the last time he scored fewer at the same point in his innings was five runs against South Africa in CWC 2019, six years ago.

Xavier Bartlett, playing his first match of the series, removed Gill for nine in the seventh over, and Virat Kohli joined Sharma on the crease. Bartlett, in the same over, removed Kohli for a duck lbw plumb in Infront of the wicket, and Shreyas Iyer joined Sharma in the middle.

Xavier Bartlett wreaked havoc in Adelaide, he first dismissed skipper Shubman Gill for 9, followed by Kohli for a duck. This was the first time in Kohli's ODI career that he was dismissed for ducks in two back-to-back matches.

India registered their third-lowest power-play score after the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup as they finished on 29/2 with Sharma and Iyer on the crease.

Sharma took a single off Cooper Connolly's delivery in the 23rd over and brought up his half-century in style. It is his 59th half-century in the ODI format for India, and he completes it in 74 balls.

Sharma also went past Sourav Ganguly as India's third-highest run getter in ODIs. The duo of Sharma and Iyer completed a 100-run stand for the second wicket in the 27th over. In the following over, Iyer also brought up his half-century in 67 balls.

Mitchell Marsh brought back Starc into the attack, and he delivered by removing Sharma after he slammed a hard-fought 73 runs off 97 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, and Axar Patel joined Iyer in the middle.

Australia managed to crack India's resistance, with spinner Adam Zampa providing the crucial breakthrough by dismissing Shreyas Iyer for 61 and KL Rahul for 11. India seemed to be off track in the end as they struggled to build a strong partnership.

Bartlett got his third wicket of the day as he removed Washington Sundar for 12 runs off 14 balls, and Nitish Kumar Reddy joined Patel in the middle. Zampa gave India a double blow in the 45th over, removing Patel and Reddy for 44 and eight respectively.

Harshit Rana took on Zampa in his final over of the innings, smashing him for 16 runs. Zampa finished his spell with four scalps under his belt.

Brief score: India 264/9 (Rohit Sharma 73, Shreyas Iyer 61; Adam Zampa 4/60). Vs Australia. (ANI)

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