What happened the last time India played an ODI in Vizag?

After a nervy five-wicket win, Team India are set to cross swords with Australia in the second ODI of the ongoing three-match series on Sunday, March 19. The much-awaited fixture is scheduled to be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam.

Team India have played a total of 9 ODIs at the said venue in Vizag, winning seven while losing just one of those encounters. One game against West Indies in 2018 ended in a tie.

Situated in the south-east coastal region of the country, the pitch in Vishakhapatnam is generally good for batting but also aids slow bowlers. Weather, though, could play spoilsport as there is a forecast of scattered showers in the afternoon.

The last time India played an ODI in Vizag was in December 2019. The ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium hosted the second of a three-match ODI series against West, which the hosts won by a scoreline of 2-1.

After being put in to bat first, India swiftly gained the upper hand as Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul made full use of the excellent batting conditions.

Rahul provided an initial burst, while Rohit happily played second fiddle, nurdling singles and collecting the occasional boundary.

#OnThisDay in 2019, Rohit Sharma put up a masterclass by scoring 159(138) against West Indies at Visakhapatnam. 👏

Kuldeep Yadav took a hat-trick and became the first Indian bowler to claim two hat-tricks in International Cricket. 🔥

Even KL Rahul scored a brilliant 102(104). https://t.co/AilFm98rm2

The duo of Rahul and Rohit tormented the Windies attack and stitched up a giant opening stand of 227 runs. While the Karnataka-born batter scored 102 runs, Rohit missed out on an opportunity to score his fourth double century after being dismissed for a well-made 138-ball 159.

Later, fireworks were provided by Shreyas Iyer (53) and Rishabh Pant (39) after captain Virat Kohli fell for a rare golden duck. As a result, India laid out 387 runs in their allotted 50 overs.

West Indies began briskly in response, accumulating 60 runs in the first ten overs. Thankfully for the hosts, Shardul Thakur drew first blood, dismissing Evin Lewis in the 11th over.

Soon after, the guests faultered and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They lost two more wickets within their next 26 runs.

However, a 101-run partnership between Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran saw the Windies fight back but Mohammed Shami's twin strike quashed the prospect of an incredible resurgence.

Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Hope, Jason Holder, and Alzarri Joseph to register his second ODI hat-trick, thus becoming the first Indian to achieve the landmark.

Eventually, Team India bundled out the opposition for 280, winning the game by a margin of 107 runs.

Rohit Sharma returns as Team India hopes to win the 2nd ODI to bag the series

#TeamIndia go 1⃣-0⃣ up in the series! 👏 👏

An unbeaten 1⃣0⃣8⃣-run partnership between @klrahul & @imjadeja as India sealed a 5⃣-wicket win over Australia in the first #INDvAUS ODI 👍 👍

Scorecard ▶️ bit.ly/INDvAUS-2023-1…

@mastercardindia https://t.co/hq0WsRbOoC

The Men in Blue recorded a gritty win in Mumbai to go 1-0 up in the series. While the Indian bowling unit worked in cohesion to dominate the Aussie batters, KL Rahul came up with a solid 75*-run knock to glide India past the total.

The action now shifts to Visakhapatnam, where India will also welcome the return of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who missed the series-opener due to family commitments. This means that Ishan Kishan is likely to sit out unless India value his left-handedness and give him a chance in the middle order in place of the under-firing Suryakumar Yadav.

Rohit's return will only boost India as the Hitman boasts a strong record against the Australians, amassing 2,208 runs across 40 ODIs.

It remains to be seen whether the Men in Blue will continue their dominant run at home and bag their ninth consecutive ODI series win on home soil.