Team India pulled off a victory for the ages against five-time champions Australia on Sunday in their opening game of the 2023 ICC World Cup in Chennai.
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India had dished out a clinical bowling performance to restrict Australia to 199 after Australian skipper Pat Cummins opted to bat, with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja leading the way with 3/28.
The Men in Blue however, found themselves in an all-too-familiar position of a top-order collapse early on their innings, with Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc reducing India to 2/3 inside the first two overs.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, however, not only weathered the storm but ended up turning the game on its head with a brilliant 165-run partnership for the fourth wicket that setup a comfortable six-wicket victory for the Men in Blue with 52 deliveries to spare.
Speaking to the broadcasters after the victory, Rahul, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 97, said Kohli had advised him to play cautiously and treat the situation like a game of Test cricket when the Australian pacers were breathing fire.
“There weren’t a lot of conversations with Kohli. I had just taken a shower and was hoping to put my feet up for half an hour after the fielding innings, but I had to come in. Virat said that I should play like Test cricket for a bit,” Rahul said in the post-match interview.
“There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers early on. Towards the end, the dew played a bit of a part for them. It was still two-paced. It wasn’t a great wicket to bat on, neither was it too difficult. I think it was a good cricket wicket, that’s what you get in South of India especially in Chennai,” added Rahul, when asked about the conditions.
Kohli departed for 85 when the Indians were within sight of the finish line, and it was left to Rahul to complete the job.
Rahul smashed a six and a four off consecutive deliveries from Glenn Maxwell before finishing the job with a maximum off Pat Cummins in the 42nd over to help the Men in Blue open their account with one of their more memorable victories in recent memory.
India skipper Rohit Sharma, who was one of the three Indian batters to get dismissed for a duck during the procession early in the run chase, not only heaped praise on Kohli and Rahul but also credited his side for the way they fielded and bowled.
“The fielding was something we really put our effort on. It was a great effort. In conditions like this it can be tough sometimes. We knew there would be assistance for everyone. Seamers got reverse, spinners bowled in nice areas. All in all a great effort.
“You don’t want to start like that when chasing a target. Credit to Australia, but some loose shots there as well. But that happens, you want to get off the mark and score quickly in the powerplay. Hats off to Virat and KL. The way they stuck out there to create a match-winning partnership,” added Rohit.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins, meanwhile, felt Australia were “at least 50” short of what would have been a competitive total on that Chepauk wicket. He also rued Mitchell Marsh dropping Virat Kohli on 12 when the situation was very much within Australia’s control.
“I’ve already forgotten about it! Not ideal, especially for his calibre. Four down for 10 would’ve been amazing but wasn’t to be. Have to have a review. Obviously a tough surface. It’s just one game out of nine, no need to dwell over that,” Cummins said.
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