With series on the line, India hope Adelaide brings good fortune

The start to India’s white-ball tour of Australia didn’t quite go to plan, and now the pressure is firmly on Shubman Gill’s team to level the series in Adelaide, as the second ODI gets underway on October 23.

India stuttered to 136/9 after a series of rain delays shortened their innings to 26 overs, with only KL Rahul and Axar Patel crossing 20. Australia then chased a revised target of 131 in just 21.3 overs, led by skipper Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten 46 guiding them to victory with 27 balls to spare.

India’s problems started early. Their two most experienced players fell cheaply – Virat Kohli was out for an eight-ball duck in his first innings since the IPL final, while Rohit Sharma made 11 before edging Josh Hazlewood to slip. Gill and Shreyas Iyer both fell down the leg side for 10 and 11 respectively.

Adelaide Oval should offer far friendlier batting conditions than the bouncy Perth surface. Kohli, remember, has five international centuries here – and a T20I best of 90* – while averaging 65 at the venue. Rohit, however, is searching for his first fifty in Adelaide from 15 innings. Still, it’s the kind of surface where India’s top order can really hit back.

India might consider bringing in Kuldeep Yadav despite the shorter square boundaries, breaking from the template to include a proven wicket-taker instead of a spin-bowling allrounder. With the series on the line, Kuldeep’s inclusion makes sense. Harshit Rana’s rough debut in Perth could see Prasidh Krishna come in too.

Historically, India have enjoyed good results in Adelaide. They are unbeaten in their last five ODIs here since 2008 (with one tie in 2012). Australia, meanwhile, have lost two of their past three matches at the ground after a run of five straight wins.

Alex Carey and Adam Zampa are back for the home team after missing the Perth ODI. Carey’s return could mean Josh Philippe misses out despite a handy 37 and three fine catches on his comeback to ODIs for the first time since 2021. Zampa’s inclusion means left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann heads home after his two crucial wickets in the opener.

India likely playing 11: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Axar Patel, 6 KL Rahul (wk), 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Australia likely playing 11: 1 Mitch Marsh (capt), 2 Travis Head, 3 Matt Short, 4 Alex Carey (wk), 5 Matthew Renshaw, 6 Cooper Connolly, 7 Mitch Owen, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam Zampa