Australia delivered a commanding performance in the second Test at Adelaide Oval, defeating India by 10 wickets to level the five-match series at 1-1. The day-night encounter, played under pink-ball conditions, concluded in just three days, showcasing Australia’s dominance and maintaining their perfect 8-0 record in day-night Tests at the venue.
Australia sealed the win with ease, chasing down a modest target of 19 runs in just 20 balls during the first session of Day 3. Skipper Pat Cummins spearheaded the bowling attack with figures of 5-57, dismantling India’s batting lineup in their second innings.
India, resuming Day 3 at 128-5, faced an early setback when Mitchell Starc dismissed Rishabh Pant (28) in the opening over. Despite a defiant 42 runs from Nitish Kumar Reddy, India managed only 175 runs in their second innings, falling short of any chance to save the match. Cummins used the bouncer effectively to clean up India’s lower order, cementing Australia’s victory.
Travis Head played a pivotal role in setting up the win with a brilliant 140 in the first innings, earning him the Player of the Match award. India’s two innings combined lasted just 81 overs, underscoring their struggle against Australia’s relentless bowling.
Opening batters Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney comfortably scored the required runs, with Khawaja hitting the winning shot in what turned out to be the shortest Test between the two sides.
Cummins praised his team’s performance, saying, “This was a great week. We were far away from the kind of team we want to be in Perth, but this is back to kind of how we want to play.” Reflecting on his bowling, he added, “The rhythm felt pretty good this week, and good to get a few wickets.”
India’s skipper Rohit Sharma, who returned for this Test after missing the series opener in Perth, acknowledged the team’s underwhelming performance. “We didn’t play well enough to win the game. Australia played better than us. There were times we could have grabbed opportunities, but we failed, which cost us the game,” he said. Sharma, batting in a new middle-order role, contributed just 3 and 6 runs across the two innings.