India back on familiar turf in search for series parity

It's been well over 10 years. But one of the most prominent murals till date inside the main Adelaide Airport terminal is that of a packed Adelaide Oval, engulfed in a sea of blue Indian jerseys. It's from the 2015 World Cup encounter between India and Pakistan, when the city and its Oval were taken over by thousands of partisan Indian fans.

It's a constant reminder of the rather special and unique relationship Indian cricket has shared with the Adelaide Oval. As has its most popular cricketer of recent times. But unlike with Virat Kohli, who's always loved scoring runs at what he considers his favourite venue, Indian cricket has had an equal mix of glorious and notorious moments here.

Ranging from the lowly lows of being bowled out for 36 in a Test match to posting famous victories across formats, some that have been etched in the highest echelons of Indian cricket history. With that World Cup win over Pakistan probably still the most memorable highlight at the Adelaide Oval.

With reports about tickets for the second ODI being sold out, the atmosphere is expected to be somewhat similar to that famous night a decade ago. What with India now in a must-win position to stay alive in the series. Not to forget that this will indeed be their final sighting of Kohli at the Adelaide Oval.

If anything the weather around the Adelaide Oval has been hospitable enough to the Indians to provide them with enough dry spells for two mostly full-fledged training sessions. While Virat Kohli had a lengthy hit on Tuesday and was seen in great spirits to be back in Adelaide, fellow veteran Rohit Sharma was at it on both days, eager to get his series going.

Though it's unlikely that whatever transpires on Thursday will end up as a mural anywhere in the city, it does promise to be quite a spectacle regardless as India look to create another memory at one of their favourite homes away from home.

When: Australia v India, 2nd ODI, October 23, 2025, 14:00 hrs Local Time, 14:30 hrs AEDT, 09:00 hrs IST

Where: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

What to expect: We are in the last week of spring but the weather has felt nothing like it in Adelaide over the last two days. There were thunderstorms through Tuesday and even a big spell of rain early on the eve of the match. But the skies did clear as Wednesday wore on, but not enough for the groundstaff to avoid using the heat lamps over the pitch. The pitches here this season have been largely good to bat on as seen during the two Shield games, and expect it to be the same for the second ODI.

Team News

Australia

There are a few notable returns for Australia with hometown hero Alex Carey definitely back in the XI. Marnus Labuschagne was the first to the ground, spending nearly half an hour with the ground-staff talking pitches, and he was first in the nets for a hit. There is a likelihood of him coming into the side for Cooper Connolly, with Mitch Owen potentially moving down to No 7. Adam Zampa is also back in the mix and should replace the impressive Matt Kuhnemann.

Probable XI:Travis Head, Mitch Marsh (c), Matt Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly/Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

India

There was a lot of chat around Yashasvi Jaiswal, who spent most of Wednesday bowling his leg-spin. Though everyone including the couple of selectors on tour were seen talking to the young opener, it's unlikely that India will make too many changes to their team from Perth.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh