Australia overcame a mini collapse late in the innings to seal a two-wicket victory against India in the second ODI at Adelaide on Thursday.
Cooper Connolly made an unbeaten 61 to guide the Aussies home after they suffered a scare when India grabbed three wickets in the space of 14 runs to leave the home side at 260/8.
A wide by Arshdeep Singh gave the Aussies the win with 22 balls to spare.
Earlier, when Harshit Rana broke a 55-run stand between Matthew Short and Cooper Connolly to leave Australia at 187/5 in their chase of 265, it gave India a glimmer of hope.
But Connolly and Mitchell Owen brought up a fifty stand in just 34 balls to put the Aussies on course for a second successive win in the ODI series.
Short had been caught in the deep by Mohammed Siraj for 74 off 78 balls. It was his second fifty partnership of the innings. Along with Matt Renshaw, he had added 55 for the third wicket to put pressure on India after Australia lost both openers.
Axar Patel provided the much-needed breakthrough, dismissing Renshaw to end the partnership and ease the pressure.
Washington Sundar then removed Alex Carey cheaply for nine to leave Australia in a spot of bother at 132/4.
Earlier, Rana and Arshdeep Singh both claimed one wicket each to put Australia on the back foot.
Travis Head was dismissed by Harshit Rana for 28 off 40 balls, edging a catch to Virat Kohli behind the stumps in the 12th over.
Earlier, Arshdeep Singh broke Mitchell Marsh’s stubborn resistance in style, dismissing him for 11 off 24 balls in the eighth over of the chase.
In the first innings, India had to rely on their lower-middle order to revive the innings after a shaky middle-order collapse to reach 264/9
Harshit Rana swung the momentum back in the 47th over with a spirited counterattack against Adam Zampa, smashing three boundaries. Arshdeep Singh followed up with two boundaries off Mitchell Starc in the 48th over to propel India past 250, though he fell to Starc in the final over.
Zampa was vital for Australia, removing KL Rahul for 11 in the 37th over before dismissing Nitish Reddy and Axar Patel in the 45th to complete a fine four-wicket haul
Patel was dismissed just short of his half-century.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, who forged a much-needed partnership after early setbacks, were dismissed following a 100-run stand.
Mitchell Starc dealt a serious blow by dismissing Sharma in the 30th over, while Adam Zampa claimed Iyer’s wicket just three overs later.
Sharma, on 73, had steadied the innings after India lost two wickets in quick succession.
After a poor outing in the previous match, Rohit displayed calm and composed batting, reaching his 59th ODI half-century when it mattered most.
Meanwhile, Iyer also played a crucial role reaching his 23rd half-century in the ODI format for India in 67 balls.
Earlier, Australian pacer Xavier Barlett wreaked havoc against India, claiming two scalps in quick succession.
The King and the prince were forced to bow out in the same over, thanks to phenomenal bowling from the ‘X-man’.
Kohli was unable to make any impact as he fell without scoring a single run, his second consecutive duck in the series, the first time he was dismissed for ducks in two back-to-back matches.
Earlier in the same over, India skipper Shubman Gill was caught by Mitchell Marsh for just nine runs.
India fielded an unchanged playing XI, showing faith in the side that contested the first ODI in Perth. Australia made two changes, bringing in Alex Carey for Josh Philippe and Barlett in place of Nathan Ellis.
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh had won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Teams:
India: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Xavier Barlett, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
