India couldn’t cross the par score at the Adelaide Oval during the second ODI of the two-match series against Australia. For them to win the fixture and keep the series alive, it was important to earn a victory during the second encounter. To defend their 264 runs in the first innings, the tourists needed to take wickets up front with the new ball, and Travis Head was one of the most important ones.

Head didn’t contribute much in the previous game at the Optus Stadium in Perth when he holed out to the planning of the Indian side, where they kept the square leg fielder and pushed the southpaw to hook against the left-arm pace of Arshdeep Singh.

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In Adelaide, Head had a very good record across formats. But Harshit Rana showed his magic by sending back the batter for 28 runs. The southpaw looked to close the face of the bat against the length delivery and ended up getting a massive leading edge. The ball went high, and Virat Kohli came at mid-off and called for it.

Watch: Harshit Rana dismisses Travis' head for 28 during AUS vs IND Adelaide ODI

Kohli was calm and comfortable under the ball, judging the pace and rotation of the ball as Rana opened his account. It was a very good start for him with the ball after smashing a fine knock of 24 runs in 18 balls with the help of three boundaries to shoulder the Indian side over the 250-run mark.

You cannot keep this man out of the game! 😎#HarshitRana outfoxes Travis Head who gives a simple catch to #ViratKohli. 👏#AUSvIND 👉 2nd ODI | LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/dfQTtniylt pic.twitter.com/Hrfh9iRlhS

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 23, 2025

Earlier in the day, India’s top order failed to lay down the platform with the bat before the century stand between the two half-centurions, Shreyas Iyer and Rohit Sharma, pushed them to a decent score while Axar Patel claimed a fine knock of 44 runs in 41 balls. Adam Zampa and Xavier Bartlett shared nine wickets between them.

Before Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh looked to smash Arshdeep over the mid-on region for a six and ended up getting an outside edge into the blade. The left-arm pacer picked up one wicket for 22 runs in six overs, while Rana has the current figures of 1/21 in four overs.