Ind vs Aus, 2nd ODI: India win by 50 runs, retain top spot in ODI rankings

Kolkata: Virat Kohli’s Team India completed a 50-run win over Australia in the second ODI here on Thursday, thanks to a sensational hat-trick from Kuldeep Yadav. Having decided to bat, India lost Rohit Sharma early, but Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane took the team forward, finishing the innings at 252 all out.

Both Kohli (92) and Rahane (55) got out during the innings, with the former being eight short of his 31^st ODI ton. For the Aussie bowlers, Nathan-Coulter-Nile and Kane Richardson picked up three wickets, while Pat Cummins and Ashton Agar picked one each.

In reply, the Aussies never looked settled, after having lost openers Hilton Cartwright and David Warner early. But, captain Steve Smith’s 59 in his 100^th ODI gave hope for the visitors. Marcus Stoinis, too, joined the party by scoring his maiden fifty, but Kane Richardson’s departure courtesy the final wicket for Bhuvneshwar denied Australia the match. With this result, Virat Kohli's men have retained the top spot in ODI rankings, with three ODIs to play

Australia will have one last chance to step up in this series when the two teams now head to Indore for the third ODI on Sunday.

Scorecard:
India: A. Rahane run out (Cartwright /Wade) 55, R. Sharma c and b Coulter-Nile 7, V. Kohli b Coulter-Nile 92, M. Pandey b Agar 3, K. Jadhav c Maxwell b Coulter-Nile 24, M.S. Dhoni c Smith b Richardson 5, H. Pandya c Warner b Richardson 20, B. Kumar c Maxwell b Richardson 20, K. Yadav c Wade b Cummins 0, J. Bumrah (not out) 10, Y. Chahal run out (Wade) 1. Extras (b1, nb1, w13) 15. Total (all out in 50 overs) 252.
FoW: 1-19, 2-121, 3-131, 4-186, 5-175, 6-204, 7-239, 8-239, 9-246.
Bowling: Cummins 10-1-34-1, Coulter-Nile 10-0-51-3, Richardson 10-0-55-3, Stoinis 9-0-46-0, Agar 9-0-54-1, Head 2-0-11-0.
Australia: H. Cartwright b Kumar 1, D. Warner c Rahane b Kumar 1, S. Smith c sub (RA Jadeja) b Pandya 59, T. Head c Pandey b Chahal 39, G. Maxwell st Dhoni b Chahal 14, M. Stoinis not out 62, M. Wade b Kuldeep Yadav 2, A. Agar lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 0, P. Cummins c Dhoni b Kuldeep Yadav 0, N. Coulter-Nile c & b Pandya 8, K. Richardson lbw b Kumar 0, Extras (b-4, lb-6, w-6) 16. Total (all out in 43.1 overs) 202.
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-9, 3-85, 4-106, 5-138, 6-148, 7-148, 8-148, 9-182.
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 6.1-2-9-3, Jasprit Bumrah 7-1-39-0, Hardik Pandya 10-0-56-2, Yuzvendra Chahal 10-1-34-2, Kuldeep Yadav 10-1-54-3.

Australia 182-9 from 39.4 overs

WICKET! Hardik Pandya has got yet another wicket as Coulter-Nile is caught and bowled , with the visitors losing their ninth wicket.

Australia 148-8 from 38 overs

WICKETS! Kuldeep Yadav strikes as he gets his first hat-trick in ODI cricket, by removing Mathhew Wade, Ashton Agar and in three balls.

Australia 138-5 from 29.5 overs:

WICKET! Hardik Pandya removes captain Steve Smith foir 59, who was looking settled in the middle.

Australia 121-4 from 26 overs:

In his 100th ODI, Australia captain Steve Smith has got to his 18th ODI fifty with a calm and composed innings.

Australia 106-4 from 22.5 overs:

WICKET! MS Dhoni does the trick as he stumps out Glenn Maxwell, as Chahal strikes yet again. India are back in the game now.

Australia 85-3 from 17 overs:

WICKET! Chahal's spin magic does the trick with a full toss to Travis Head, and Manish Pandey takes a spectacular catch at midwicket.

Australia 61-2 from 12 overs:

Steve Smith and Travis Head have revived Australia's innings as they went past the 50-run mark, needing less than 200 to win now.

Australia 9-2 from 4.5 overs:

WICKET! Ajinkya Rahane takes a good catch at second slip as Bhuvneshwar traps David Warner.

Australia 2-1 from 3 overs:

WICKET! Bhuvneshwar Kumar strikes as he removes Hilton Cartwright early in the innings.

India innings

India all out for 252:

WICKET! India get all-out. Chahal looks to steal off a bye on the last ball, but gives up on the chase midway after Kumar at the other end stands still. Wade from behind runs up to the stumps and uproots the bails.

WICKET! Hardik Pandya departs after he hits a slower full toss off Stonis straight to Warner at long off.

India 239-8 from 48.2 overs:

WICKET! Wickets continue to tumble for India as Kuldeep Yadav follows Bhuvneshwar, who departed in the previous over.

India 239-7 from 48 overs:

WICKET! Bhuvneshwar Kumar departs as Maxwell takes an easy catch at long-on, scoring a cameo of 20 runs.

Rain update:

Just when India inched towards the 250-run mark, the covers came off, and players walked off the field, as rain made its entry.

India 207-6 after 40 overs:

WICKET! It doesn't last long for Dhoni. Kane Richardson forces Dhoni to play on the drive and he chips it straight to Smith at short extra cover.

India 201-5 after 38 overs:

WICKET! Kohli departs for a well made 92. The Indian skipper tries to run down a tight delivery from Coulter-Nile but chops the ball onto his stumps. Pandya joins MS Dhoni at the crease.

India 190-4 after 36 overs:

WICKET! After a stable partnership with Virat Kohli at the crease, Kedar Jadhav has thrown it away. Coulter-Nile bangs it short with a bit of with and Jadhav flashes after it, only to hand it straight to Maxwell at backward point.

India 131/3 from 27.4 overs

WICKET! Ashton Agar has ended Manish Pandey's stay in the middle. He tried to cut but the idea has clearly backfired as the ball hits the top of the off stump. Pandey has struggled to get going and Australia have made sure they cash in on Pandey's struggle.

India 121/2 from 23.4 overs:

WICKET! Oh dear, no! Ajinkya Rahane has not made it back in time. Run out. He dives but in vain. The Mumbai batsman, who notched up his 20th ODI fifty, departs for 55.

India 111/1 from 22 overs:

ANOTHER FIFTY FOR KOHLI! The Indian skipper struggled initially but he is looking at ease now as he brings up his 45th ODI half-century. Rahane is 2 runs away from his fifty.

India 50-1 from 11 overs:

after losing Rohit Sharma early, captain Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane continued to take India forward as they went past 50.

India 26-1 from 6 overs:

WICKET! A fuller delivery by Coulter-Nile but Rohit fails to hit it on the drive and gets the bottom of the bat, gives an easy catch back to the bowler.

Preview:

Virat Kohli-led Team India will take on Steve Smith's Australia in the second ODI, which will be played at Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata on Thursday. India has already gained upper hand in the five-match ODI series by winning the rain-curtailed first ODI in Chennai by 26 runs.

The second ODI could witness another truncated match as the weathermen have not ruled out the possibility of intermittent showers, especially in the evening hours. With rain threat looming large, the Eden Gardens remained under cover ahead of the second ODI.

Heavy rain that lashed the eastern city of Kolkata on Wednesday forced the Australian and Indian teams to skip net practice on the eve of their second one-day international. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is the president of CAB, also inspected the conditions and was seen giving instructions while the ground remained under cover.

"The pitch and ground conditions are just perfect. It's an ideal condition what's required for a One-Day International contest but I cannot say whether it will rain or not," CAB pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee, who's putting in hard yards despite flu for last two days, was quoted as saying by PTI.

“Who would think India to score 281/7 from being five down for 87 in the 22nd over. I cannot say they will make how many runs but the wicket will help both batsmen and bowlers," Mukherjee added before saying, "We are equipped to cover the entire ground and there is enough machinery to clear up even if it rains but it depends on the intensity and duration."

Steve Smith-led Australia will be looking to bounce back from the loss in Chennai. Smith has been under a lot of pressure in recent times, his side made an early exit from the Champions Trophy in England in June. After the end of the pay dispute between Australian players and Cricket Australia, the Australians toured Bangladesh where they were held to a draw in the Test series which was played last month. Losing the ongoing series against India will put his captaincy under serious concern.

Virat Kohli and his boys are on a hot streak right now. The men in blue first trashed Sri Lanka 9-0 in their own backyard, and now playing at home they lead the Australians in the five-match ODI series.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.

Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Hilton Cartwright, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis and Aaron Finch.