Youngsters dictate proceedings as India blow away Australia to double their advantage

If a victory in the curtain-raiser of the five-match series was just an overture to the madness that was to follow suit, Team India crafted another resonating victory to bolster their case and this time it came at the expense of an Australian side that was brimming with known faces returning from the recently concluded 50-over World Cup.

Winning the toss, Australia opted to bowl first on a batting friendly surface, keeping in mind the dew factor coupled with some serious firepower to take the mantle in the latter half of the innings. Put into bat, the Indian openers were off to an absolute flier as Yashasvi Jaiswal started on fifth gear straight away.

Ruturaj Gaikwad would occasionally come out of the anchoring shell of his to condemn the bad balls, Jaiswal would keep on pumping out those big boundaries, peppering the cherry to every single nook and cranny of the park.

The opening duo of Jaiswal (53) and Gaikwad (58) posted a staggering 77 runs stand for the opening wicket from just 35 balls. Despite Nathan Ellis producing the big wicket of Jaiswal, the aggression never really dwindled from the Indian batting unit.

Ishan Kishan’s arrival to the center augured more chaos as the southpaw whacked the visitors left ruthlessly while Gaikwad shifted gears in short succession too. Kishan’s relentless brilliance catapulted India to 164 within just 15 overs while the man himself scored a whirlwind 52 from 32 balls.

Despite Marcus Stoinis getting the better of Ishan Kishan, Team India was in no mood to sit back and defend. The striking got more and more frequent and the visitors took more damage with every passing minute as the Men in Blue made merry. Suryakumar Yadav’s pacy 19 coupled with Gaikwad’s resilience at the other end saw India cruising comfortably.

Australia did manage to instil hopes of a late meltdown but splashing water on their ambitious plans, an ice-cool Rinku Singh came out all guns blazing as Team India whacked 44 runs from the final two overs, finishing things at 234/4. Rinku stayed unbeaten for a 9-ball-31, making life a living nightmare for the Australian bowlers.

The visitors did manage to get a flying start to the innings, courtesy of Steve Smith (19) and Matt Short (19) but Ravi Bishnoi’s early double whammy coupled with strikes from Axar Patel and Prasidh Krishna left Australia hamstrung. Four of their top-order batters namely Smith, Short, Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell were back in the hut while the visitors reeled at 58/4.

Tim David (37) and Marcus Stoinis (45) did come together in tandem to steady the Aussie ship but once Ravi Bishnoi foxed the former into producing a mishit, it engendered an avalanche that consumed Australia completely.

With the required rate leaping beyond control, Australia crumbled faster than a house of cards while their skipper stood transfixed at the other end, watching his blokes bite the dust. Wade did try and put up a fight but with bare minimum support, there wasn’t much that he could have done. He stayed unbeaten for 42 while India scripted a remarkable 44-runs win, going up 2-0 in the series. Yashasvi Jaiswal was awarded the Player of the Match for his defining half-century and a couple of brilliant catches.