Nagpur: India beat Australia by 8 runs in a thrilling second ODI of the five-match series at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, here on Tuesday.
The Men in Blue, who were defending the 251 runs target, bundle out Australia for 242 in 49.3 overs to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Interestingly, Team India created history with the victory as they become the only second team in the history of cricket to win 500 ODI matches.
What a nail biting game this has been.
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2019 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Two wickets for @vijayshankar260 in the final over and #TeamIndia win the 2nd ODI by 8 runs #INDvAUS. We take a 2-0 lead in the five match series pic.twitter.com/VZ3dYMXYNh
">What a nail biting game this has been.
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2019
Two wickets for @vijayshankar260 in the final over and #TeamIndia win the 2nd ODI by 8 runs #INDvAUS. We take a 2-0 lead in the five match series pic.twitter.com/VZ3dYMXYNhWhat a nail biting game this has been.
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2019
Two wickets for @vijayshankar260 in the final over and #TeamIndia win the 2nd ODI by 8 runs #INDvAUS. We take a 2-0 lead in the five match series pic.twitter.com/VZ3dYMXYNh
Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as he bagged three wickets and gave away only 54 runs in his 10 overs. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah and Vijay Shankar grabbed 2 wickets each, while Ravindra Jadeja and Kedar Jadhav picked one wicket each.
On the other hand, Marcus Stoinis proved out to be a lone warrior for Australia as he scored a half-century to keep the visitors in the game till the end but failed to finish the game as he fell prey to Shankar in the last over of the match.
Earlier, India skipper Virat Kohli smashed his 40th ODI ton to help India attain the modest target after the hosts, who were put to bat first, had the worst possible start as Rohit Sharma(0) departed without a run on the board, while Rohit's partner Shikhar Dhawan(21) soon followed him to the pavilion.
However, Kohli played a sensible inning despite no support from the other end.
Also, it was the much needed 81-runs partnership between Kohli and Vijay Shankar(46) which took the Men in Blue past 150.
Later, after the departure of Shankar, the Indian middle order collapsed like a pack of cards as Kedar Jadhav(11) and MS Dhoni(0) fell in consecutive deliveries.
For Australia, Pat Cummins was the wrecker-in-chief as he claimed four crucial wickets and cleaned up the tail to bundle India to 250 in 48.2 overs.
India will now lock horns with Australia on Friday in the third ODI of the series in Ranchi.
