The Indian team management will be mighty pleased to have ticked the final box heading into the ICC World Cup. Playing their second 50-over game against Australia in a span of three days, the Indian team was keen to analyze Shreyas Iyer’s readiness ahead of the marquee tournament, starting October 5.
Iyer, who returned to the Asia Cup after a long injury lay-off, was down with back spasms after a couple of outings in Sri Lanka, and a silly mix-up in Mohali, saw his dismissed for 3 runs in Mohali.
However, with time running out, the Mumbaikar realized that he had to prove himself in Indore – where he slammed a strokeful (105 off 90 balls) and registered the third highest second wicket stand with fellow centurion Shubman Gill (104 off 97 balls), before Suryakumar Yadav (72 off 37 balls) stole the show with a 24-ball half century to propel India to a mammoth 399 for 5 – the highest total against the Kangaroos.
Put in to bat, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s dismissal in the fourth over gave Australia an early breakthrough and an opportunity to tame the Indian batting at the Holkar Stadium. But Iyer denied them the luxury, and got into the act with a flurry of boundaries to outscore Shubman, who took his time early on but never lost the fluency.
With India reaching 79 for 1 in 9.5 overs, rain stopped play, but fortunately, it did not last long as bright sunshine returned in no time.
Back in the middle, the right-handed duo left Australia frustrated with Iyer announcing his return with a fine century – the third of his ODI career before cramps and fatigue got the better of him. Despite getting a reprieve, Iyer perished for 105 but not before adding a 200-run partnership with Gill, who not too long after, completed the 6th century of his ODI career, and fifth of the calendar year, but perished soon after.
Australia’s brief breather, however, did not last long as stand-in skipper KL Rahul (52) and Ishan Kishan (31) joined forces in the middle to put up another 59 runs to help India cross the 300-run mark in the 41st over, before Suryakumar Yadav walked in and started straight from fifth gear.
Fresh from a half century in the previous game in Mohali, Yadav bludgeoned four consecutive sixes off one over by Cameron Green and raced past 50 in just 24 balls. The right-hander smoked another couple of sixes to eventually propel India to the mammoth score.
Brief Scores: India 399 for 5 (Shubman Gill 104, Shreyas Iyer 104, Suryakumar Yadav 72 not out, KL Rahul 52; Cameron Green 2/103) vs Australia