Indore: Team India are in fine fettle and will go into the home World Cup next month as the No. 1 side in ODOs.
The men in blue were assured of the top ranking at the World Cup – which begins on October 5 – following a dominating 99-run win over Australia in the second ODI here on Sunday night which helped them take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The teams will travel to Rajkot for the final ODI on September 27, before they face off in the World Cup in Chennai on October 8.
India’s batsmen set up the huge win with a commanding display that saw Shubman Gill (104 off 97, 6×4, 4×6) and Shreyas Iyer (105 off 90 balls, 11×4, 3×6) smash classy centuries. Skipper KL Rahul (52 off 38, 3×4, 3×6) and Ishan Kishan (31 off 18) continued the plunder before Suryakumar Yadav provide the knockout punch with an unbeaten 72 off 37 balls with 6 sixes – including four in a row off Cameron Green – and 6 fours.
Chasing a mountain, Australia were rattled at the outset by Prasidh Krishna who dismissed Matthew Short and stand-in captain Steve Smith off successive balls in his first over.
A rain break reduced the number of overs, and Australia were left to chase 317 in 33 overs.
Seasoned spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bagged three wickets each as Australia tumbled to 140/8.
It was only an entertaining ninth-wicket partnership of 77 runs between Sean Abbott (54 off 36, 4×4, 5×6) and Josh Hazlewood (23) that prolonged the match.
Brief Scores: India 399/5 in 50 overs (Shubman Gill 104, Shreyas Iyer 105, Suryakumar Yadav 72*, KL Rahul 52; Cameron Green 2/103). Australia 217 in 28.2 overs (Sean Abbott 54, David Warner 53; R Ashwin 3/41, R Jadeja 3/42, Prasidh Krishna 2/56).
Result: India won by 99 runs by D/L method.
Man of the Match: Shreyas Iyer
Series position: India lead 2-0.
Final ODI: Sept 27 (Rajkot).
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