Australia's next-gen on show in series-sealing two-wicket win
Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly and Mitch Owen all had a big say in Australia's nervy two-wicket victory
Xavier Bartlett has spoiled Virat Kohli's Adelaide Oval swansong as Australia's next generation fired them to a series-clinching win against India in the second ODI.
Kohli was dismissed for his second straight duck of the series – the first time he has failed to score in consecutive ODI innings – as Bartlett did the early damage in India's 9-264 on Thursday.
Matt Short (74) and Cooper Connolly (61 not out from 53 balls) then produced career-best knocks as Mitch Owen (36 off 23) clobbered three sixes in his maiden ODI innings to see Australia home by two wickets with 22 balls to spare.
Short had ridden his luck to anchor Australia's chase after the early losses of openers Mitch Marsh (11) and Travis Head (28), but succumbed top edging Harshit Rana just when the chance beckoned to lead his side home.
But Connolly and Owen knocked off the bulk of the remaining 78 runs in no time to give Aussie fans a glimpse of the emerging talent selectors hope will be key to their build 2027 ODI World Cup.
Owen picked out long on with 19 still to win, and while Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj removed Bartlett and Mitchell Starc respectively, Connolly stood firm with Australia eight down to secure an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
The winning run was a wide in the 47th over as Australia broke a run of three straight ODI series losses.
India squandered several chances to make it a tighter affair with two catches going down off Short's flashing blade, while he also could have been run out early in his innings.
The second dropped catch was a soda at backward point that Mohammed Siraj almost didn't lay a hand on, with the bowler, Washington Sundar, sinking to his knees in frustration as the Victorian survived for a third time.
Matthew Renshaw helped Short steady the chase with a run-a-ball 30 but the spin of Axar Patel and Washington pegged Australia back through the middle as local boy Alex Carey (9) was also bowled attempting his favoured sweep shot.
With 133 required from 138 balls, Short needed a supporting hand and he found it in Connolly, who eased the pressure with a flurry of boundaries in their 59-run sixth wicket stand.
India found the going tough early on Thursday afternoon after being sent in on a pitch that had been under covers for most of the two days leading into the match.
Captain Shubman Gill (9) was the first fall as he picked out his Aussie counterpart Marsh at mid-off but the anticipation only rose from there as Kohli strode to the middle at No.3.
He was the man most of the Indian-dominated crowd of more than 40,000 had come to see, but his stay was again short-lived as Bartlett claimed his second wicket of the over.
The Queenslander's set up of the champion batter was something to behold, especially for a bowler playing just his fifth one-day international. After taking the first three deliveries away from the batter regarded by many as the best ever in the ODI format, Bartlett zeroed in on the stumps to trap Kohli plumb in front.
Kohli cut a dejected figure as he trudged from the one of his favourite cricket venues for what is likely the last time in international cricket, with his tally to five centuries at Adelaide Oval the most of any ground he's graced in an Indian shirt.
The 36-year-old, now playing solely 50-over internationals after retiring from Test and T20s, lifted his glove in acknowledgement to the crowd's ovation as he headed down the Adelaide Oval race one last time.
It was a battle to begin with for fellow veteran batter Rohit Sharma as he survived two reviews off Josh Hazlewood and played and misses regularly as he crept painstakingly to 30 runs from his first 62 balls faced.
Two sixes in an over from the medium pace of Owen got him going however as he and Shreyas Iyer clicked into gear with an important 118-run stand for the third wicket.
But just as they could have taken the game away from Australia, both coughed up their wickets, first Rohit (73) picking out fine leg off Starc (2-62) before Iyer (61) tried to switch Adam Zampa across the line and was bowled.
Zampa (4-60) then skidded a delivery into KL Rahul's stumps before having Axar Patel caught in the deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy stumped to leaving India's innings in disarray at 8-226 at the end of the 45th over.
Patel (44) tried to take on one of the longest boundaries in world cricket – straight at Adelaide Oval – and was superbly caught by Starc dancing around the long off rope, with the tall left-armer throwing the ball up to himself as his momentum carried him outside the field of play before stepping back inside to complete the catch.
Bartlett (3-39) added a third scalp prior to that as Washington Sundar clipped a full ball sweetly off his pads but straight to Hazlewood on the square leg boundary.
Hazlewood took two catches but remarkably no wickets, beating the bat 13 times to finish his 10-over spell with the impressive figures of 0-29 with two maidens and 43 dot balls.
Harshit Rana (24 not out) and Arshdeep Singh (13) swung lustily against Zampa and Starc to find the boundary five times in the final five overs, lifting the visitors from the brink of being bowled out to beyond 250.
The two sides travel to Sydney for the final ODI on Saturday before launching straight into five T20 internationals that will be crucial preparation ahead of February's T20 World Cup.
Source: Cricket Australia