Australia vs India 2018/19: 3 Unnoticed things from the second ODI 

Australia had won the first ODI quite comfortably and came into the second ODI high on confidence. Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat first yet again. The Australian captain failed again in the series with the bat. However, Shaun Marsh continued his golden form and scored a delightful century.

Marsh has been the lone fighter for Australia in recent ODIs. He had four consecutive 50+ run partnerships with four different players which helped the home team to post close to 300 runs on the board.

In reply to the target of 299 runs, the prolific Indian openers gave India a decent start. Shikhar Dhawan scored 32 runs off 28 balls and Rohit Sharma fell 7 runs short of a half-century.

Virat Kohli kept the chase on with his 39th ODI century as his love affair with Adelaide Oval continued. India won the all-important second ODI. There are a few things that the fans might have missed during the game. Let us have a look at them:

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#1 Shaun Marsh scores century and Australia lost again

Shaun Marsh has been Australia's best-limited overs batsman in last one year. He has scored four centuries in his last 8 ODI innings. Though his Test form is under scrutiny, his ODI form has been top notch. Unfortunately, all the four recent century from the southpaw have come in losing cause.

Marsh scored 131 against England in June 2018 but that didn't help Australia to chase down a big total of 342 runs. In the same series, he had scored another century alongside Finch which helped the team to post 310 runs but that too was not enough as England chased down the target inside 45 overs. He scored one more century in recent home series against South Africa in a chase but the Aussies failed to chase 300+ yet again.

It has been disheartening to see such valuable innings end in losing cause. In the second ODI of the ongoing series against India, he scored his fourth ODI century in last four months. Australia posted 298 runs and they were confident to win once they saw the back of Indian openers. But Kohli's masterclass ensured that India levelled the series and another of Marsh’s ODI centuries went in vain.

#2 Maiden century by an Australian on this tour

India’s tour of Australia began with three T20Is. They were followed by four Tests and now the teams are playing a 3-match ODI series. Till the last ODI, none of the Australian batsmen had registered a century in the tour.

The fact comes as a surprise as their batsmen have not been able to score centuries during the course of the tour. Test opener Marcus Harris scored 79 in Sydney Test which was the highest score by an Australian on this tour till the first ODI. However, Shaun Marsh had different plans today as he broke the century drought with a stunning century. This was his fourth century in his last 8 ODIs.

Ever since David Warner and Steve Smith were banned, he has been the backbone of the Australian ODI team. He scored 131 runs which helped Australia post 298 runs in 50 overs.

#3 Virat Kohli didn't celebrate his half-century

The Indian openers set the team off to a decent start in a big chase. However, they could not convert their starts into big scores. Virat Kohli came to the crease after the fall of the Dhawan’s wicket. He was stubborn on the crease and not in a mood to throw away his wicket.

The Indian skipper took time and constructed his innings slowly. He was never in a hurry and kept the scoreboard ticking for India. He reached his well-crafted half-century off 66 balls in the 30th over.

On reaching the personal milestone, Kohli did not bother to celebrate as he was focused on the chase at hand. The determined Indian captain went on to score his 39th ODI century. He has scored nine centuries in his last 19 ODI innings which is incredible, to say the least.

Although Kohli was dismissed after scoring 104 right after the drinks break, MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik ensured that India reached the target without any further hiccups.