Before Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya returned for the decisive game, India's World Cup-bound hitters mounted a coordinated onslaught.
Shreyas Iyer (105) and Shubman Gill (104), who both scored hundreds, spearheaded a merciless batting attack that propelled India to a decisive 99-run (DLS method) victory over Australia in the second ODI at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday.
KL Rahul (52) and Suryakumar Yadav (72) provided energy for the procession as India won the series and solidified its position as the top-ranked team going into the World Cup.
Australia's 400-run chase got off to a bad start when Prasidh Krishna caught Matthew Short and Steven Smith off consecutive deliveries in the second over and the game was called after 33 overs, leaving the visitor with a challenging 317-run target. R. Ashwin and David Warner added some excitement to the waning match, with the Australian southpaw briefly thwarting the off-spinner with a right-handed guard.
Sean Abbott's brilliant 36-ball 54 ignited Australia's weak bottom order before the visitors lost their fifth straight match.
Before Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya returned for the decisive game, India's World Cup-bound hitters mounted a coordinated onslaught.
India made an inept Australian attack pay for choosing to field on a flatbed, despite Ruturaj Gaikwad's (8) early hiccup. As the usual captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, and Marcus Stoinis moved to the bench, Smith, the interim captain, had few options to consider.
Together with Josh Hazlewood, a left-arm rookie, Iyer put on a ferocious 200-run second-wicket stand, raking in five fours off just 15 deliveries. Gill joined in as he used his tensile wrists to disrupt the on-side barrier after initially becoming agitated by the tight lines.
The pair opened the floodgates despite a 30-minute rain delay, forcing Smith to gesticulate animatedly to place his deep mid-wicket and long-off fielders. India actually scored 80 in the first PowerPlay, which was one of its joint-highest totals against Australia.
The only lead spinner, Adam Zampa, made a mistake by bowling short and was destroyed by the right-handed pair. Iyer blasted a six down the middle off a free-hit from Johnson as he easily reached the half-century mark.
The batters briefly lost steam as the pitch count approached ninety. Iyer, however, put an end to a miserable, injury-plagued year by smacking Zampa to long-on for his third ODI century. Iyer struggled with wrist pains and was unable to prolong his stay, holeing out to the deep mid-wicket fielder off a weak hook drive.
Before skying a length ball from Cameron Green to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, Gill patiently crafted his fifth ODI century of the year and second at the location in as many games.
When captain Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar lit up the second half by collecting 22 boundaries, the performance was only halfway over. While Suryakumar used the confidence from the fifty in the previous game to extend his signature range, Rahul blazed three maximums over the leg-side while maintaining an upright stance in the crease.
In the 44th over, the Mumbai maverick hit Green for four consecutive sixes; the ball flew over long-leg, deep fine-leg, extra cover, and mid-wicket in sequence as he easily squatted and stretched.
Suryakumar achieved his greatest ODI score with customary flair, cruising over a 24-ball fifty, the fastest by an Indian against Australia. So did India, who set its highest ODI total (399 for five) against Australia at a stadium where it had gone seven games without a loss.
