IND vs AUS 2nd ODI: India take unassailable series lead with 99-run win vs Aus

Shubman Gill showed his insatiable hunger for runs with fifth hundred of the year while Shreyas Iyer hit a timely ton under pressure to set up a series sealing 99run win for India in the second ODI against Australia on SundayGill 104 off 97 balls and Iyer 105 off 90 balls shared a strokefilled 200run stand off 164 balls before Suryakumar Yadav 72 not out off 37 balls unleashed carnage to fire India to 399 for five the hosts highest total against Australia in ODIsSkipper KL Rahul chipped in with 52 off 38 balls Rain stopped play for the second time in the game when Australia were 56 for two in nine overs With the revised target of 317 in 33 overs they fell further behind in the game and ended with 217 all out in 282 oversDavid Warner 53 off 39 who batted righthanded against R Ashwin 341 and Sean Abbott 54 off 36 had a good hit in the middleThe series win without their five main players in the squad was a big boost for India ahead of the World Cup at homeThe final game in which a full strength India squad is expected to play will take place in Rajkot on WednesdayWhile Gill extended his sensational run with a fifth ODI hundred in 2023 runs were more than welcome for Iyer who missed the majority of Asia Cup with a back spasm soon after returning from a long injury layoffIyer who was fighting for a spot in the middleorder with Ishan Kishan might have settled the debate for now However Surya has emerged as another contender for that one spot with an explosive knockThe Holkar Stadium tends to produce highscoring games and Sundays game proved no exceptionThats that from the 2nd ODIJadeja cleans up Sean Abbott as Australia are all out for 217 runs in in 282 oversTeamIndia take an unassailable lead of 20INDvAUS pictwittercomLawVWu2JI8mdash BCCI BCCI September 24 2023The Men in Blue amassed 399 with centuries from Shubman Gill and Shreyas Gill after being asked to bat firstLeading the team in the first two games of the threematch series KL Rahul made 52 off 38 balls Ishan Kishan contributed an 18ball 31 while Suryakumar Yadav needed just 37 balls to score 72 after reaching his halfcentury in 24 deliveriesAlso Read Suryakumar Yadav smashes thirdfastest ODI fifty by an Indian hits four sixes in a row WatchGills peerless form is an ominous reminder to rivals ahead of next months World CupIt was a second consecutive ODI hundred for the 24yearold at this venue having hammered 112 off 78 balls against New Zealand earlier this year when India ended with a matchwinning 395Unlike Iyer Gill began slowly on Sunday collecting nine off his first 19 balls before going after the Aussie bowlers with disdainHe was unstoppable after his first strike which was a straight six off pacer Abbott in the ninth overCameron Green tried a short one against Gill who was happy to pull him away for a six over fine leg But the rain caused a 40minute delay putting a temporary halt to the entertainmentBoth Gill and Iyer who struggled with cramps towards the end of his innings continued to find boundaries after resumptionThe highlight of Gills knock was how frequently he danced down the track against the fast bowlers while Iyers aggressive intent from ball one stood out in a scenario where he was desperately searching for runsBoth Iyer and Gill got their halfcenturies with straight sixes off debutant Spencer Johnson and Green respectivelyConditions were ideal for the batters but the Australian attack missing the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins looked short on ideas Lead spinner Adam Zampa too could not stem the flow of runsIyer was the first to complete a century his third in ODIs while Gill got to the milestone his sixth in the format 19 balls laterWhen both the batters departed Rahul and Kishan 31 off 18 played some bold strokes to up the scoring rateSuryakumar who had to change his game in the previous match to adapt to the needs of ODI cricket came out to bat in the 41st overHis innings included four sixes in a row off Green in the 44th over The towering pacer conceded 103 runs in his 10 overs so symbolic of their wretched outing with the ball on the dayAustralia were never in the run chase after losing their first two wickets off successive deliveries from pacer Prasidh Krishna in the second over Both Matthew Short and Steve Smith fell chasing wide deliveriesWith agency inputs