The heroic half-centuries of Shreyas Iyer and Rohit Sharma in the second of the three ODIs at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 23, went to waste, with Australia smashing a hard-fought 265-run target in 46.2 overs with two wickets left.
Shreyas was particularly pleased by 22-year-old Cooper Connolly’s performance, as he went undefeated on 61 off 53 balls to lead his team to win. While Shreyas felt the pitch improved for batting in the second innings, he praised the southpaw’s maturity in targeting specific bowlers to score boundaries and rotating strike throughout his effort.
“I absolutely have no idea because I was fielding the far end of the square. So when you mentioned that the wicket changed, what was happening exactly? I mean, it was easier to bat on in the second mix. But credit where it’s due. I think they played brilliantly. The way they batted, they rotated their strikes. I think it was superb performance,” Iyer said in the post-match press conference after being asked about the nature of the wicket changing in the second innings.
“And Cooper, especially being a youngster, coming and showing so much maturity to finish off the game, that shows a lot of character. And he’s someone I’ve seen even in the India A versus Australia A matches. He was charging on the bowlers and very selective in terms of which bowler to target. So credit where it’s due,” he added.
Shreyas Iyer admits Australia made the most of early advantage after 2nd ODI
Shreyas was asked how hard it is to make him play only one form of international cricket. The 30 year old is taking a brief break in the red-ball cricket and has not participated in a T20I since December 2023. When questioned on how Australia had performed in the second ODI in regards to bowling, Shreyas answered that the bowlers of the hosts were at the advantage of bowling when the circumstances were right during the first innings and they took advantage of this.
“I personally feel there’s no challenge. It’s just about adapting to the conditions and we keep training here and there. And also it’s important that we maintain our, you know, intensity outside the field. We’ve got to be match prepared. And when we step onto the field, at the back of the mind, you need to have that, you know, scores. Especially the confidence, that sort of confidence you get from domestic cricket. And lately, coming into this tournament, I played India A-Series matches as well. So that gave me immense boost coming here. And obviously, you’ve just got to back yourself in such crucial games where you know that you’ll be challenged by the best. And when the best are there, you’ve got to give your best,” Iyer said.
“So I always love challenges and I always like to take the bulls by the horn. It definitely hurts. I personally feel that the first game which we played, it wasn’t that convincing, to be honest. Because the rain played an important role and the benefit went to the Australia side. But that’s one reason which I’m giving over here. But coming into this game, it was definitely a do-or-die for us. And we wanted to place our best foot forward. But losing two crucial wickets at the start and then to build up that innings, it takes a lot of efforts. And I personally feel the way Australian bowlers, they bowled on such wicket. They had fair bit of advantage at the start and they utilized it pretty well,” he added.
Australia’s victory on Thursday gave them a commanding 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The two teams will now travel to Sydney for the last One-Day International, which is set on Saturday, October 25.
