India seek series-levelling win; eyes on Ro-Ko in Adelaide

After a forgettable opening to the ODI series in Perth, India will look to regroup and aim for a series-levelling victory against Australia in Adelaide on Thursday, even as the focus firmly remains on the veteran pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who endured modest returns with the bat on return to international action for the first time since their Test retirements earlier this year.

- TRIDIB BAPARNASH

Apart from a late cameo from Nitish Kumar Reddy and an impressive spell from left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, there were hardly any positives that India would want to take from Sunday's rain-affected match that lasted less than 50 overs.

While Virat and Rohit struggled, Shubman Gill had a rare recent failure on his ODI captaincy debut as the visitors looked a bit rusty in their 50-over return since the ICC Champions Trophy in March. Having said that, the Men-In-Blue are expected to presenta much more formidable challenge in Adelaide, considering that the series is on the line.

As such, on Thursday, all eyes will once again be on Rohit and Virat to turn back the clock with series-saving knocks even as the challenges in Adelaide are unlikely to offer much relief. In Perth, Rohit did show off his trim physique with hard running between the wickets before nicking Josh Hazlewood to second slip, but since then has been working hard in the Adelaide nets as he hopes to alleviate some pressure amid doubts over whether he can make it to the next World Cup.

Kohli, meanwhile, took the day off after an extended net session on Tuesday. Back in his happy hunting ground, the charismatic batter, who holds animpressive record at the ground, having amassed 975 runs in 12 international matches, the most byan Indian at this venue, looked relaxed on match eve.