Rajkot (India) (AFP) – India fought back on Friday from their humiliating defeat by Australia in the opening one-day international, plundering 340 for six in their bid to level the series.
Shikhar Dhawan made 96, KL Rahul 80 and captain Virat Kohli 78 as the Indian batsmen dominated the Australian bowlers who had played a key role in the 10 wicket win in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and put his opponents in to bat, but found India a different proposition to the side that was never in the contest in Mumbai while his bowlers struggled.
Dhawan fell just four runs short of his 18th one-day century. The left hander put on 81 for the first wicket with Rohit Sharma who went for 42.
Having then put on 103 with Kohli, Dhawan lasted 90 balls and hit 13 fours before he gave a catch to Mitchell Starc off Kane Richardson’s pace bowling.
“It was good to see that we came back so strongly,” said Dhawan. “We had a good discussion, we knew we had to target specific bowlers and we showed more intent. Once we were set, we put the pressure on them.”
Starc also caught Kohli off spinner Adam Zampa but had no luck bowling. His 10 overs cost 78 runs with no wickets. Richardson also gave away 73 runs for his two wickets. Neither managed a maiden.
A win for India would set up a thrilling finale in the three-match series in Bangalore on Sunday. The series is a key part of the preparations for both sides ahead of this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.
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