SYDNEY, Nov 29: Australia buried India under an avalanche of runs for a 51-run drubbing in the second ODI and an unassailable 2-0 series lead after the majestic Steve Smith produced another master-class in the form of a 64-ball 104 here on Sunday. Batting first, Australia rode on five fifty-plus scores including Smith�s blazing knock, to post an imposing 389 for four against a sluggish India. This was the Australian run-machine�s fifth century against India in the 50-over format and second on the trot after his ton in the series-opener, which came off 66 deliveries.
A target of 390 proved to be too much for India as they were stopped at 338 for nine, with captain Virat Kohli (89) and KL Rahul (76) finishing as their main contributors in what turned out to be another forgettable outing for the beleaguered visitors. India started the big chase in earnest with the in-form Shikhar Dhawan (30) and Mayank Agarwal (28) dealing in boundaries from the onset. If Agarwal found the fence twice in the first over, Dhawan struck Mitchell Starc for three successive fours to get the Indian innings going.
A magnificent cover drive by Agarwal took the visitors past 50 in 6.1 overs. However, in trying to go for too many, Dhawan perished.
In came Kohli and as he has mostly done through his illustrious career, the Indian captain played some delightful shots on the way to his 87-ball innings to keep the visitors in with a chance.
During his stay in the middle, Kohli pulled, drove, flicked and cut with plenty of success as India tried to keep the required rate within 9-10 runs per over.
But pacer Josh Hazlewood provided Australia their biggest breakthrough when he had Kohli caught brilliantly by a diving Moises Henriques at midwicket.
That brought Hardik Pandya in the middle and the all-rounder, in the company of KL Rahul, played some big shots. But they were never going to be enough.
Rahul departed after striking five sixes and four boundaries in his 66-ball knock. India completely lost the plot after that.
Fast bowler Pat Cummins picked up 3/67 in his 10 overs.
Besides Smith�s 104-run knock, swashbuckling opener David Warner smashed 83 off 77 while skipper Aaron Finch contributed 60 in a first-wicket stand of 142 in under 23 overs.
SCORECARD
Australia: D Warner run out (Shreyas Iyer) 83, A Finch c Kohli b Shami 60, S Smith c Shami b Hardik Pandya 104, Marnus Labuschagne c Mayank Agarwal b Bumrah 70, Glenn Maxwell not out 63, Moises Henriques not out 2. Extras: (LB-2, NB-1, WD-4) 7. Total: (For four wickets in 50 overs) 389. Fall of wickets: 1-142, 2-156, 3-292, 4-372. Bowling: M Shami 9-0-73-1, J Bumrah 10-1-79-1 , N Saini 7-0-70-0, Y Chahal 9-0-71-0, H Pandya 4-0-24-1, R Jadeja 10-0-60-0, M Agarwal 1-0-10-0.
India: Mayank Agarwal c Carey b Cummins 28, Shikhar Dhawan c Starc b Hazlewood 30, Virat Kohli c Henriques b Hazlewood 89, Shreyas Iyer c Smith b Henriques 38, KL Rahul c Hazlewood b Zampa 76, Hardik Pandya c Smith b Cummins 28, Ravindra Jadeja c Maxwell b Cummins 24, Navdeep Saini not out 10, Mohammed Shami c and b Maxwell 1, Jasprit Bumrah lbw b Zampa 0, Yuzvendra Chahal not out 4. Extras: (NB-2, WD-8) 10. Total (For 9 wickets in 50 overs) 338. Fall of wickets: 1-58, 2-60, 3-153, 4-225, 5-288, 6-321, 7-321, 8-326, 9-328. Bowling: M Starc 9-0-82-0, J Hazlewood 9-0-59-2, P Cummins 10-0-67-3, A Zampa 10-0-62-2, M Henriques 7-0-34-1, G Maxwell 5-0-34-1. � PTI
