New Delhi: It will be a do-or-die contest for India to stay alive in the three-match ODI series against Australia when the two teams meet in the second ODI at the iconic Adelaide Oval in South Australia’s biggest city, Adelaide. Indian players couldn’t get going in the rain-hit series opener in Perth as the home side completely outplayed them at the Optus Stadium to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
While it can be argued that the stop-start nature of the match heavily impacted the performance of the Men in Blue, it is also true that the Australian bowlers set the tone for their team’s dominant win with a sensational spell with the new ball.
Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood breathed fire with the new ball to rattle India’s star-studded top-order, sending the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer back to the pavillion inside the first 15 overs and stopping the visitors’ innings from getting any momentum.
India somehow reached 136 for 9 in 26 overs, a total Australia overhauled in the 22nd over with seven wickets to spare. Neither the Indian batters nor the bowlers were able to compete against the dominant Aussies, who go into the second match in great form and momentum after a crushing win against the No.1 side in ODI cricket.
However, India, wounded after the Perth loss and desperate to restore parity and pride, will bank on their recent record at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
India’s ODI record at Adelaide Oval
Team India boasts a superb record at the Adelaide Oval. Overall, the Men in Blue have played 15 ODIs at the venue and have a favourable 9/5 win/loss record. In recent times, India have been a dominant force on this ground, unbeaten in their last five ODI appearances. While Australia have a 4-2 lead over India in six encounters at this venue, they haven’t beaten India at Adelaide Oval since February 2008.
It is also the same venue where India defeated Pakistan by 76 runs in the 2015 ODI World Cup – their biggest win (in terms of runs) at the Adelaide Oval.
India’s last ODI fixture at this venue was back in 2019 against Australia, which they won by six wickets.