India vs Australia Live Cricket Score, 2nd ODI: Matthew Short, Cooper Connolly star as Australia defeat India by 2 wickets, take unassailable 2-0 lead in series

5 off 24 balls. India need 2 wickets. All signs point towards an Australia win but India will not go silently into the night. All it takes are 2 balls. Connolley on strike and Arshdeep to bowl. And a couple of runs from the first delivery. And 2 more as the scores are level. And a wide to end. Australia win, take unassailable 2-0 lead in series.

10 runs left from 30 balls. Still firmly Australia's game but a couple of wickets will change the entire complexion. Siraj to bowl and Connolley with a single to start. He then goes and has a chat with Starc. And after a dot, Starc punches the next ball straight down the ground for 4!! The pressure is well and truly off now and Australia will waltz to victory. Unless there's another twist!! And there is!! Starc with an unsure shot that is hit straight to Axar.

Mitchell Starc c Axar b Siraj 4(7)

13 from 36 is the equation. Arshdeep to bowl and Barlett with a single to hand the strike back to Connolley. The next ball is adjudged a wide as it sails over the top of the head of the batter. Connolley cuts the next one away but India keep it down to one. And Barlett tries a big hit and falls!! Might be too late now but it still makes it a bit difficult.

Bartlett c Gill b Arshdeep Singh 3(5)

Siraj to bowl the next and Connolley with a single to start this one off. Barlett on strike. Australia have a lot of balls in hand so that will ease some pressure. Another single to bring the target down to 15 off 40. 2 more follows as the target shrinks further. 4 from this over.

AUS 252/6 after 44 overs

Washington introduced in the attack and AUS need 22 from 48. And 2 runs chalked off from as the batters take 2 runs. AAAAND OWEN TRIES A BIG SHOT!! IS IT GOING ALL THE WAY?? NOOOO!! STRAIGHT TO ARSHDEEP SINGH!! Is this the breakthrough India needed?

Mitchell Owen c Arshdeep Singh b Washington Sundar 36(23)

Australia are motoring along at the moment with Owen mining 10 off Axar's last 2 deliveries in the previous over. Can Siraj stop the onslaught? And Connolley gets in on the act with a huge six to start proceedings. That has absolutely sailed over wide long off. Takes a single next to give the strike to Owen who returns the favour with a single of his own. Connolly pulls hard next and that has raced along and hit the fences for another 4!! And that's 50 for Connolly!!

AUS 243/5 after 42 overs

Harshit Rana to Owen again and the Australian has muscled him over the deep midwicket for a monstrous SIX!!! Harshit has been pretty expensive this spell. gill might need to change something before the match goes to the realm of no return. A break in play as Harshit looks to be struggling. The physio is stretching him out now. Things don't look very bright for the visitors here. He's good to continue though. For now. 9 from this one.

AUS 216/5 after 40 overs

Axar will continue and yields 2 singles from the first two deliveries. Live visuals show Arshdeep getting some sort of treatment from the physio. 3 runs from this one ultimately.

AUS 207/5 after 39 overs

On to the 38th over and Rana will be bowling this one and Connolley with a single, followed by a boundary from Owen!! It seems Australia are not going to change their approach. And another four which even a diving Siraj can't keep out. Was very close though. Oh dear, dear!! Owen pulls the following ball and that's gone over backward square leg for a 6!!! 14 from this over.

AUS 204/5 after 38 overs

AAAAND WE HAVE ANOTHER WICKET!! After a not so stellar over, where he conceded 4 runs, Rana goes for a short ball which forces Short to play over his head and the ball has gone straight into the hands of Siraj!! He'll be feeling a lot better now after dropping a previous catch.

Matthew Short c Siraj b Harshit Rana 74(78)

Washington slides one in on length and Short biffs it with a hard slog-sweep over square-leg for SIX. This is where the finger spinners might just play into the hands of the Aussies. Under a hundred to get from here and both batters have expanded their range of attacking shots to the shorter, squarer boundaries.

AUS 175/4 in 35 overs

Axar tosses one up and Connolly creams it through covers for FOUR. A bit wayward hee from Axar. He slides one down leg and Connolly swipes it down fine leg, beating Iyer for another FOUR.

AUS 155/4 in 32 overs

IN THE AIRRR... and dropped! Mohammed Siraj puts down a sitter at backward point. Washington Sundar's in disbelief. That simply ballooned up off Matt Short's outside edge and Siraj had all the time in the world to pouch that one before somehow managing to slip it through his fingers. A shocker right there.

AUS 139/4 in 29 overs

Sundar delivery to the stumps! Washington returns to dislodge Alex Carey and put Australia in huge trouble here. He attempts a regulation sweep but Sundar fires one in quickly to knock the stumps down.

Alex Carey b Washington Sundar 9 (17b

AUS 132/4 in 27 overs

Short hasn't been short of adventure here and he gets to his half-century in only 48 balls. He has kept the scoring rates up ever since he walked in and has played some sumptuous strokes so far.

AUS 130/3 in 26 overs

The boundaries have dried up and runs are coming in a trickle at the moment. Excellent little phase of bowling here for India with Arshdeep Singh joining Axar from the other end with a tight spell so far. And just as we speak, Arshdeep comes around the stumps and sprays one on length, helping Short smear the ball through extra cover for FOUR.

Axar hits timber! He forces Renshaw to advance down the track and look for an ambitious loft over cover but the ball skids through and hits the middle-stump. Huge breakthrough for India to tighten the screws a little bit.

Matt Renshaw b Patel 30 (30b 1x4 1x6)

AUS 110/3 in 22 overs

Axar's back on the field and into the attack. Spin introduced in the 20th over and this is going to be a crucial phase for India to stub the flow of runs and apply pressure on this Aussie middle-order.

Axar goes loopy and slower through the air. A string of singles through the over. Seven from it.

AUS 103/2 in 20 overs

Nitish brings KL Rahul up to the stumps yet again and feeds a short delivery to Renshaw. Right in the arc and walloped! Renshaw stands up and smokes it to the mid-wicket stands for SIX! A single to follow and Matt Short launches a crunchy cover drive for FOUR. Angled in a bit but Short gets on top of the bounce beautifully and thumps it past Gill at mid-off for FOUR.

AUS 93/2 in 18 overs

IN THE AIR AND DROPPED! Axar Patel spills a sharp catch at point and Matt Short gets a huge reprieve there. Width offered by Nitish and Short whacks it hard to the left of Axar at point. Slightly delayed reactions there and Axar has seemingly done some damage to his bowling arm. He leaves the field.

AUS 76/2 in 16 overs

Harshit Rana has picked up the wicket here. Travis Head tried to work the ball on the leg-side and got the leading edge. Virat Kohli took the catch. That is the wicket India needed, and they have got it. Now this is going to be interesting. If India can put on a few tight overs and keep building up the pressure, they might force a few more quick wickets. Matt Renshaw has walked into the middle, who is making a comeback of sorts into this Australian side. He has a job to do here. Needs to hold the fort for a few overs.

Harshit Rana has replaced Mohammed Siraj here. It might be a couple of overs too late; nevertheless, he is in, and he has a new batter and a set batter. Who is struggling with timing to bowl to. This was the ground where Rana took a bit of pasting last year in the pink ball Test. He would be looking to redeem himself here with a good spell. The good thing for him is that the ball is still new, and he can bowl a tad bit fuller and see if there is any swing on offer still. On the other end, it will be interesting to see if Arshdeep bowls one more or if there will be a change.

Arshdeep Singh strikes for India here. It was a fuller ball, and Mitchell Marsh came down the track to drive one through the covers, edged it to the keeper, KL Rahul. It is a much-needed wicket for India. Marsh would feel that all the hard work he did is now gone in vain. Mathew Short is the new batter in. He is a pretty good batter and does specialize in white ball cricket, but this is a testing spell from the Indian new-ball bowlers. It might be time Gill considers bringing in Harshit Rana with the new ball and giving him a crack as well.

This is a good, tight bowling from India. They have hit their marks quite nicely. They could have been a bit fuller, but apart from that, Shubman Gill could not have too many complaints. Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head have been quite cautious so far, especially against Siraj, who is getting that nibble around that fourth stump channel, which can be quite tricky. To Head, though they have bowled quite into his body, giving away nothing to cut. We have all witnessed over the years how brutal he can be when he has the opportunity to cut the cricket ball.

Both the Australian openers have started a bit slowly here. Usually, both Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head, similar to Rohit Sharma, look to stamp their authority right from ball one, but today they understand that the only way India has a possibility of winning this game is if they pick 2-3 quick wickets with the new ball. If these opening partnerships can stop that from happening, they can win this game. India, on the other hand too will be well aware that this new ball is the best shot they have to take this game close, or else they will be playing catch-up for the rest of the innings.

There is a bit of swing on offer for both Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh here. The lights have not completely taken effect. This is what we call a twilight period, which we don't see a whole lot in the sub-continent conditions. But India would want the lights to take a bit more effect for that ball to move. Regardless of whether India doesn't make the most of this new ball, the ball will skid nicely onto the bat under lights at this ground. The ball will come beautifully onto the bat, skidding superbly and letting batters score freely.

Both Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh are in the middle for Australia. Mohammed Siraj has taken the new ball for India. It is going to be no walk in the park for Australia, but if the score they will fancy themselves to chase this. For India to stay in this defence they have to keep picking up the wickets. If Australia bats 45 overs, they will win this game.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj

Australia (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey(w), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Rohit Sharma had faced 83 balls from Josh Hazlewood before the Adelaide ODI. He had watched, dissected and studied his angles and spaces, the planes and paths, comprehended the fine margins of deviations and bounce, the little clues his action and release threw up. Yet, when he faced the 89th ball from the six-feet-five-inches tall seamer in Perth, he slipped into the familiar snare off prodding at a hard length ball with uncertain hands, everything about his terrified movements betraying him.

Rohit could curse his judgement, the failing muscle memory, the diminishing eyes, the un-grooved muscles; he could also nod at the simple genius of his nemesis, smiling sheepishly, retreating into the background, the unsung drummer of Australia’s holiest fast bowling trinity. Rohit might have watched the mode of dismissal a thousand times in the past. The hard length ball, angling in from the high, upright arm, seaming away fractionally, extracting a scintilla of extra bounce, grazing the outside edge off the confused bat. Or in a plain sense, Hazlewood was just doing the expected. (Read more from Sandip G)

Virat Kohli wasn’t dismissed fishing outside the off-stump at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday but to overcome this age-old weakness he made himself an LBW candidate. The cure, in this case, has the potential to be as bad as the disease.

Kohli was dismissed for a four-ball duck after he was trapped LBW by seamer Xavier Bartlett. To curb his tendency to chase the ball outside the off-stump, Kohli changed his guard, something he has done in the past with limited success. (Read more from Venkata Krishna B)

Well, that is the end of 50 overs. It has been a see-saw battle for both sides. Australia had its say, and then India came back and once again, Australia chipped in with a few wickets after runs from Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, but Harshit Rana did manage to provide some sort of finishing touch. It must be 20-25 short, but we will find out how the pitch behaves when Aussies come to bat under the lights. As per the bowling, Bartlett has been the star of the show, although the wickets column would suggest that it is Adam Zampa who got the maximum number of wickets. Mitchell Starc chipped in with a couple in the end, all in all a good bowling show from them after winning the toss and opting to bowl first. We will be right back after the break. Do stay with us to catch the chase.

This has been a good partnership between Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh right at the end. Rana has hit some hefty blows against Adam Zampa to inject some sort of momentum into this innings. Arshdeep Singh, too, has supported him nicely in the middle so far. Well, 280 seemed unlikely, but they can get to 270 if these two bat it out. Regardless, it still will be 20-25 runs short, and India has to bowl very well in the second innings. They have to strike early with the new ball, picking 2-3 wickets in that opening powerplay.

Unless Australia bats, it is hard to judge how good these conditions are for bowling. Yes, there is a bit of help with the new ball, but once Rohit and Iyer fell, it does seem like it has to do more with the good bowling from Adam Zampa, who is always there and thereabouts for Australia, he isn't? Goes under the radar when the big three are operating but keeps on chipping away with wickets day in day out. Today, yet again, just like that, he has picked up the four wickets and broken the hopes of India to get that 280 mark, which now looks a very good total if India could have gotten there.

Well, Adam Zampa continues his good day as well. It was Axar Patel, this time the set-batter, who tried to whack one down the ground, and Mitchell Starc took the catch quite superbly on the boundary. He took the catch, lobbed it up in the air, and went back inside the field of play to finish the catch. Superb effort from him. Well, this has been the story of the day for India. Whenever they have looked comfortable and were on their way to post a good total, they have lost a wicket. As we update, Adam Zampa has picked up his fourth wicket, and it is Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Bartlett doesn't go away, does he, today? He picked up another wicket in Washington Sundar. To be fair to the batter, that was a pretty good hit from him. He flicked it nicely straight to the cow-corner fielder. While Sundar is not someone who is expected to score runs but his white-ball form has been a bit of a muddle. He has neither been a finisher who comes and does the job at the number he came in today, or he yet to show he can play the role of an accumulator like Axar Patel is doing today through the middle overs to build some partnerships.

We are into the final 10 overs here. It has been quite an entertaining innings so far. The new ball bowlers had something to work with, and when the ball lost its shine, both Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer could make the most of and once the ball got a bit on the older side, Adam Zampa, with his variations, could scalp a couple of wickets. It might be a very small sample size so far, but the new rule change favours bowlers a bit, but the pitches also need to be provided in a way that bowlers have something to work with, like the one today.

As often happens, the lull brought up a wicket, and it is a big one for KL Rahul. It was a flipper from Adam Zampa and Rahul trying to play a shot square of the wicket, missed the ball, and lost his stumps. That is a big wicket for Australia under the circumstances. The two new batters in the middle are Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. India looked good for 280 at one point, but now we are back to square one, and with the current situation, India might look to curtail their hopes a bit and look for around that 240-250 mark, provided they don't collapse from here on.

There is a lull in the Indian innings here, an unwanted one. This is a consequence of losing two set batters in quick time throughout the innings. This pitch itself has been such that new batters have had it tough to get used to the conditions. One lesson Aussies will take after this innings is that when they come out to bat, they will make sure one batter who gets himself in goes on to make a three-digit score. If that happens, Australia will give them a very good chance of winning. As per India, now they have to make sure at least one of these two bats till the 50th over.

Shreyas Iyer has chopped one onto stumps against Adam Zampa here. It was a superb innings from Iyer. He came in when things were tough and partnered nicely with Rohit to put India in a stable position. Ideally, India would have hoped for one of those two to go on and make a big score, but it did not happen. KL Rahul and Axar Patel are the two new batters in, and now that only one ball will be used, hitting might be a tad bit on tougher side. We might see a lot of hard running between the wickets between these two, with an odd boundary from time to time.

The passage belonged to India. The partnership between Rohit and Iyer is what has brought them back into the game, and now they can target around the 270-280 mark, which should be a decent score to defend. The pitch has played quite nicely here. Yes, the new ball had something for the seamers, which will be the case when the Indians come to bowl as well. Hence, if they build another tiny partnership here between Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel here India can look to accelerate in those final overs. But the key is to have the set batter till about the 48th over.

Rohit Sharma has fallen here. After a sequence of spin bowling overs, Mitchell Marsh has turned to Mitchell Starc, who bowled a bit of nothing delivery, it must be said, but Rohit playing his pull through his hips could not keep the ball down the ground, and it was a simple catch for the square-leg fielder. Well, it was not the fluent Rohit we know, but he did what the situation demanded and the team needed. A good knock from the former Indian skipper. Axar Patel has walked into the middle for the Indian side to keep the left-hand, right-hand combination.

Aussies are bringing in the bowling changes here. Spinners are operating from both ends, and things have been going on quite smoothly from the Indian batting perspective. The combination that Australia has picked for today's game, the fifth bowling was always going to be an issue, and India, when going through those enough jitters, would have discussed about it on how they could make the most once the seamers are done, they can capitalize on the likes of Owen, Short, Connolley, and Maxwell. Marsh must play his cards right from here on. As we update, Shreyas Iyer has scored 50.

The partnership is now closing in on the 100-mark here. It is 88 at the time of this update. It has been a brilliant partnership between both Iyer and Rohit. There was a high probability that India would have collapsed from the situation they were in when Kohli fell. The ball was hooping around at that stage of the innings, but both these players have shown their experience nicely and manoeuvred this innings brilliantly. The onus is now on Australia to try and create a breakthrough here because Rohit will change gears with spinners operating.

50 for Rohit Sharma here. While he had got 59 of them, this will be right up there because of the context of where his career at and how hard the pitch has been today to play on. He did start slowly, but once he had seen that new spell, he started to change gears. He has turned back the clock to the older version of Rohit, where he takes his time initially and goes berserk once he gets himself in. India will be hoping that he can make this 50 into a three-digit mark and silence the doubters about his ability to still churn out runs.

Lalith Kalidas: Rohit Sharma becomes the first Asian batter to smash 150 sixes in SENA countries. Only the second visiting batter after Chris Gayle to reach the landmark.

Mitchell Owen is taking a bit of pasting here against Rohit Sharma. He smacked a couple of sixes in that over to break the shackles, and they have squeezed 17 runs of that over to inject some momentum into the innings. Much-needed big over for India, and it might get both Rohit and Iyer a bit more fluent in their innings. Also, this might be a warning sign for Mitchell Marsh, who has to get through 10 overs of the fifth bowler, and there is no designated all-rounder in this attack. It might be time Marsh turns to spin from Owen's end from the Aussie perspective.

This is a nice partnership brewing between Shreyas Iyer and Rohit Sharma. Although it has been a bit on the slower side, they have managed to keep the ship afloat, unlike what happened in Perth, where wickets kept tumbling. Now that the ball is a bit on the older side, batting will get easier. Also, one more factor these two have to consider is that only one ball will be used post-34th over, hence batting or hitting in those final overs will not be as easy as it has been with the two balls from either end. There must have been a discussion about what a good score on that wicket is, and have to bat accordingly.

This has been Australia's passage undoubtedly. This is a new ball wicket and Australia has made the most of it. The bowling has been exceptional, and the bowling changes have been even brilliant from Mitchell Marsh. If anything, Josh Hazlewood will feel unlucky that he could not have picked up a wicket after the bowling spell he has had. India, on the other hand, will be cautiously optimistic here. Although they have lost two wickets and the run-rate has been quite low compared to modern standards, they have not lost any more wickets with the amount of movement Aussies were getting.

Virat Kohli’s struggles on his ODI comeback continued as he fell for a second consecutive duck in the three-match series against Australia in Adelaide on Thursday.

Batting first, Kohli walked in after the dismissal of skipper Shubman Gill before being trapped leg-before wicket for a four-ball duck in the seventh over by seamer Xavier Bartlett. Kohli opted against a referral and trudged off for nought for the first time at his most favoured overseas venue. (Read more)

Rohit Sharma has faced 50 deliveries already in this innings within 12 overs. He has found it hard to get away from the strike, and he had a really tough time getting the ball away. However, the most important thing is that he is in the middle, and he has given himself the opportunity here. With the field spread now, singles will be easier to come, and once spinners come, batting will get easier, but he has to make sure he does not lose his concentration here. He needs to go on and make a big one here. This just might be his day.

Well, more than pitch being an issue, Australia has bowled exceptionally well here in the first 11 overs of the game. They have been on the mark right from ball one. Indian players, on the other hand, Rohit Sharma is looking clearly a tad bit rusty here, and Virat Kohli just did not have answers to the incoming delivery. Shubman Gill could not do much either as the skipper in his second outing fell for another low score. Shreyas Iyer has got his first boundary through the point region here. Although it was not convincing but the rate at which India is scoring here, they will take anything.

What a brilliant spell this has been from Bartlett. He has swung the ball both ways and troubled the batters. Indian batters have looked a tad bit surprised by the moment he was generating, and the spell from Hazlewood at the other end too has helped Bartlett's cause, as there is no respite. While Bartlett has bowled a few fuller ones when he wanted to swing for the majority of his spell, he has put his length around that good length area, looking to work with the angle. Seems to be a pretty smart operator is Bartlett, although bowling at just around 130 KPH.

Bartlett has come in and picked up a couple of wickets. First, it was Shubman Gill who drove the ball moving away from him straight to the mid-off fielder, and then he nipped one back into Virat Kohli and was trapped in front of the wicket, and for the second game in a row, Kohli has fallen for a duck. Shreyas Iyer has walked into the middle now, and India needs a partnership here. Rohit has been a bit subdued to start off here well in the last couple of overs; he was itching to play a few shots, but now he might have to wait for a bit longer.

Josh Hazlewood has bowled two overs, and both are maidens. He is in that stage of his career is the Aussie where he is just unplayable at the moment or very hard to score runs against. Earlier in the year, he was superb for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League, and he carried his form through. He was quite metronmoical with his bowling against South Africa before this series. He has been even better in this one. Rohit has had his fair share of issues against Hazlewood, and with the form and stages of careers both are in it is quite a tricky one.

Lalit Kalidas: Rohit Sharma surpasses Sourav Ganguly (9146) to become India's second highest run-scorer among ODI openers and fifth-highest overall.

Rohit's still the only ODI opener to hold a 50+ average among all 54 openers who have at least got 3000 runs in history.

1000 ODI runs vs AUS in Australia. Rohit Sharma is the first Indian to achieve the landmark and the fifth overall. He has the highest average and strike rate among the five.

Well, we had a runout opportunity, which India got away with by the barest of margins. Shubman Gill crunched one through the square region, but did not get good timing of the ball. He came down a couple of steps; meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was running down the ground and was denied a single. Rohit turned back and had to use every inch after he dived; meanwhile, it was a direct hit from the fielder, but the former skipper made it by the barest of margins. Well, after that, to calm things down, both Gill and Rohit scored lovely boundaries.

We are done with the opening. There is a bit of swing in the air for Mitchell Starc in the afternoon. It is a new ball wicket here in Adelaide, and once that is seen off, the runs are there for taking, and compared to Perth, the bounce is on the lower side here. Both Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are known for their aggressive starts. The conditions today at this venue demand a different type of skill. Both Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are in very good form, so it is going to be testing hours for both the Indian openers first up.

The sun is shining brightly. Unlike the other day, today's conditions look brilliant for cricket. These are short square boundaries here in Adelaide, and if batters see off the new ball, these are excellent conditions to bat on. It is a good opportunity for both Rohit and Kohli to get back into some runs today, and they must do so if India wants to win this game, or the series will be over today.

"We always expect a really nice cricket surface here, a nice pitch. Overnight, there were some UV lights over the pitch, which meant that they were trying to get a little bit of moisture out of the surface. When you go down to the surface, it's always rock hard. It is so hard that there is a tiny bit of moisture at the top of the surface, which means, whoever bats first, there will be a little bit of grip from the seam with that new ball. Once the batters get through that, it's going to be a really true batting surface. Adelaide Oval always offers a good contest between bat and ball, and today will be no different either."

We would have bowled first as well. Happy to bat first. Never easy when it rains, starting and stopping. The weather looks good today, hopefully no stoppages today. Batting first, hopefully we'll get plenty of runs on the board. And then get some movement under lights when we have the ball in our hand. We are going with the same team.

We are gonna bowl first. It was really pleasing (win in the 1st ODI). A lot of positives from last year. One of the better pitchers in the country this year. Everyone loves coming to play here. We always get amazing crowds, and hopefully both teams put on a great show for the big crowd today. Any time you get a chance to win a series in game two, it's an awesome opportunity. We've got a lot of young guys, so I look forward to it. Alex Carey comes in for Philippe. Xavier Bartlett comes in for Ellis.

Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey(w), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj

“I looked through the numbers and the statistics and came up with the top 12 fast bowlers for each country. I added a little metric, a formula I use that is a combination of averages, strike rates, and economy rates. Javagal Srinath, with 315 wickets from 229 games, averaged 28 with an economy rate of almost four and a half—I thought he was an excellent bowler. Number four is the diminutive, smart little swing bowler Ajit Agarkar, who bowled deceptively quick and was very effective for India with 288 wickets from 191 games. And number three is the great Kapil Dev: 253 wickets from 225 games. He opened the bowling a lot, would swing the ball away, and a key for my metrics was his economy rate of 3.71. That’s absolutely elite. Number two, and first among modern-day players, is Mohammad Shami. And number one is Jasprit Bumrah: 149 wickets from 89 games, an average of 23.55, and an economy rate of 4.59 in the modern game is very, very good."

“For me you know, Bumrah has to be number one. Bumrah is just unbelievable. He’s got such a unique action, so different to anyone else in world cricket. It’s not a run-up or technique you would teach, because it does place a lot of stress on the body. Those last two steps as he powers into the crease are unbelievable. I think if you slow his action down, where he releases the ball is about a couple of feet closer to the batsman than most other bowlers, which is quite unique. But he found what works for him, and now it’s just about keeping his body strong enough to keep bowling day in, day out. His stats are unbelievable. I think he is comfortably number one,” said McGrath

Despite Virat Kohli falling cheaply in the first ODI, the manner of his dismissal (to a brilliant catch) suggests his form is not an issue, and he remains an immensely dangerous batsman. Crucially, the venue for the next game, the Adelaide Oval, is a "happy hunting ground" for him in ODIs, where he boasts an excellent record, including two centuries in just four matches with an average of 61. His recent duck will only fuel his determination to perform, making him highly motivated and a significant threat to the Australian side.

Mitchell Marsh is currently in brilliant form across Australia's white-ball setup, making him a major threat to the Indian seam attack. His recent purple patch includes winning Player of the Match in the first ODI against India for a crucial, unbeaten knock, hitting a century in the ODI immediately prior against South Africa, and also smashing a maiden T20I century while successfully chasing a target against New Zealand, showcasing his ability to deliver impactful, match-winning performances.

“Let’s not get carried away yet. He doesn’t deserve the hate. It’s not his mistake. If you have to give hate, give it to someone else, and not to him, because he is not asking for him to be selected. You select him and he comes and plays. He tries to win the match, and whether he is able to do that or not is a separate issue,” Chopra said.

“It is difficult to go and straight away and perform. They have not played any cricket, no match practice. The stands might be filled in Adelaide and they may also fail again, that is the nature of the game.”

“At this point of time don’t let them feel the pressure. Let them enjoy. Because you have to get the best out of them. They should be relieved of any kind of pressure on them,” he said.

“What is there for Virat to achieve? He has won everything. For Rohit the 50-over World Cup is left but for Virat even that is not. He is accomplished. What is important for Indian cricket right now? To translate his knowledge and experience and pass it well to the other players, to use it well. Please utilize him to win tournaments. It is important to allow them to enjoy their cricket,” Ashwin concluded on the matter.

“Virat Kohli’s marketing is very important for the game and for himself. There is not much of a welcome for ODI series these days so how else will you sell it? The highest sellable factor is the return of Rohit and Virat. So that has been sold. After that they also become the talking point,” Ashwin said on ‘Ash ki Baat.’

“I do and and they’ve sort of moved him around. I think he’s nearly batted in all 11 positions at some stage. It must be tough for him to adapt. But I guess, you know, he’s one of those versatile players. You know, he top-scored for India last night in fairly tough conditions. So he’s from opening down to I’m not sure where how low he’s got, but they’ve sometimes that can mess your confidence up, but I think for him I I maybe he’s just used to it and just adapts. Um, obviously keeps as well. So uh, he’s a very versatile,” said McGrath.

“There was a lot of talk going into that match that, you know, the two great Sharma, Kohli, they haven’t had a lot of cricket under their belt. How are they going to go? And I think they got found out a little bit on a pitch that’s got a little bit more pace, a lot more bounce than what you they’re used to back in India. So, yeah, a little bit of a shame from that perspective. Rain affected. you know, when you when you bowl first and there’s rain around, it just makes it a little bit easier. So, I think unfortunately for in India, it was uh very one-sided,” said McGrath.

When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you're always trying to play a catch-up game (on the rain delays and the poor start). A lot of learnings for us from this game and a lot of positives for us as well. We were defending 130 and we took the game, not till the very end, but pretty deep. We were very satisfied with that. We are very fortunate (on the crowd support). The fans turned up in huge numbers and hopefully they'll be able to cheer us on at Adelaide as well.

Travis Head, Mitch Marsh (c), Matt Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly/Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

Hello and welcome to our live blog of India taking on Australia. In the first game, the conditions were not as supportive of the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at Perth. But today in Adelaide, things will be a lot better, and most importantly, it is Kohli's favourite ground in world cricket. We might see a different RoKo today. Do stay with us for all the updates.