Shubman Gill continued his sensational run with a fifth ODI hundred of the year while Shreyas Iyer hit a timely ton under pressure to fire India to a record 399 for five against Australia in the second game here on Sunday.
Gill (104 off 97 balls) and Iyer (105 off 90 balls) shared a stroke-filled 200-run stand off 164 balls after Ruturaj Gaikwad (8) missed out on a batting beauty. Suryakumar Yadav (72 not out off 37 balls) and skipper K L Rahul (52 off 38 balls) plundered a clueless Australian attack in the death overs to provide the final flourish for India.
The last 10 overs yielded 103 runs as India racked up their highest-ever total against Australia in ODIs. The Holkar Stadium tends to produce high-scoring games and Sunday's game proved no exception.
Gill's peerless form is an ominous reminder to rivals ahead of next month's World Cup. It was a second consecutive ODI hundred for the 24-year-old at this venue, having hammered 112 off 78 balls against New Zealand earlier this year when India ended with a match-winning 395.
Unlike Iyer, Gill began slowly on Sunday, collecting nine off his first 19 balls before going after the Aussie bowlers with disdain.
He was unstoppable after his first strike which was a straight six off pacer Sean Abbott in the ninth over.
Cameron Green tried a short one against Gill who was happy to pull him away for a six over fine leg. But the rain caused a 40-minute delay, putting a temporary halt to the entertainment. Both Gill and Iyer, who struggled with cramps towards the end of his innings, continued to find boundaries after the resumption.
The highlight of Gill's knock was how frequently he danced down the track against the fast bowlers while Iyer's aggressive intent from ball one stood out in a scenario where he was desperately searching for runs. Both Iyer and Gill got their half-centuries with straight sixes, off debutant Spencer Johnson and Green respectively.
Conditions were ideal for the batters but the Australian attack, missing the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, looked short on ideas. Lead spinner Adam Zampa too could not stem the flow of runs.
Iyer was the first to complete the century, his third in ODIs, while Gill got to the milestone, his sixth in the format, 19 balls later. When both the batters departed, Rahul and Kishan (31 off 18) played some bold strokes to up the scoring rate.
Suryakumar, who had to change his game in the previous match to adapt to the needs of ODI cricket, came out to bat in the 41st over. In the T20 context, it was an ideal time for him to come and explore his 360 range from ball one. He did just that to power India to a formidable total.
His innings included four sixes in a row off Green in the 44th over. The towering pacer conceded 103 runs in his 10 overs, so symbolic of their wretched outing with the ball on the day.
Brief scores:
India: 399/5 in 50 overs (Shubman Gill 104, Shreyas Iyer 105, Suryakumar Yadav 72 not out, KL Rahul 52).
