Australia looking for hat-trick of wins at Eden Gardens in Kolkata

New Delhi: After a deflating win in the rain-affected first ODI in Chennai, Australia will have a shot at redemption as they take on India in the second game of the five-match series in Kolkata on Thursday.

It is a memorable venue for the Green and Gold team as it has had two special wins at the Eden Gardens in the only two outings it has had there in 50-overs cricket.

The first was in 1987 when Australia beat England in the final of the World Cup when the crowd famously cheered for the team from Down Under. Now there was a back story to that. While England had beaten India in the semis, Australia had beaten Pakistan.

Eventually the crowd turned on its support for the team that had beaten arch-rivals Pakistan and cheered against England who had taken the home team out of the tournament.

Then there was the final of the tri-series in 2003. The series which also involved New Zealand, saw Australia beating India in the final. It was a rematch of the 2003 World Cup final where again Australia had beaten India.

Of course the odds are a bit different this time as India are favourites in the match on Thursday, owing to their good form in recent months as well as momentum from the win from the first ODI.