An in-form Australia overcame India in the second ODI of the three-match series on Sunday at the SCG. With a second successive victory, the Aussies have sealed the ODI series with one game to spare. Steve Smith (104) notched a brilliant hundred to guide Australia to 389/4. In reply, Virat Kohli's 89-run knock wasn't enough for the Men in Blue (338/9). Australian openers David Warner and Aaron Finch added 142 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform. After their dismissal, Smith and Marnus Labuschagne added 136 runs for the third wicket.
Labuschagne (70) and Glenn Maxwell (63*) stitched a quickfire 80-run stand to help Australia score 380-plus runs. In reply, the Indian batsmen got starts, but couldn't maximize. The only bright spot for the Men in Blue on the field was Pandya, who is still recuperating from a back injury but bowled four overs after a gap of more than a year. In their chase of 390, the Indian batting wasn’t completely overpowered and there was a hint of a counter-attack by openers Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal, who added 58 runs. But Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins proved way too wily and experienced for these conditions. It was soon down to Kohli but the captain’s chasing abilities weren’t enough to keep India in the series.
