India vs Australia, Cricket World Cup 2023 Highlights: India has won its opening encounter of this world cup against arch rival Australia. The victory came in the 42nd over, as it chased down a total of 200 runs with six wickets in hands. KL Rahul, unbeaten at 97, and Virat Kohli who scored 85, were the architechts of th run-chase. They stitched a partnership of 165 runs. The team had begun the run chase on a shaky ground, with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer getting out at zero.
Earlier, Australia had won the toss and decided to bat first in hot and humid conditions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) in Chennai. Ishan Kishan replaced illnesses-ridden Shubman Gill in Indian playing XI while Ravichandran Ashwin also finds a place at his home ground.
Despite losing the toss, India bowlers didn’t disappoint and gave a very tough time to the Australian batters, who could be seen struggling from the very beginning.
Apart from David Warner (41) and Steve Smith (46), not other batter could stand on the Chepauk pitch for long, all thanks to the Indian bowling attack. By 49.3 overs, Australian batters could score only 199 runs and were all out. India now need only 200 runs at 4 rpo.
For India, each bowler showcased their magic. Ravinddra Jadeja was the most successful bowlers, who picked 3 wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav picked 2 wickets each. Also, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Siraj all clinched one wicket each too.
Prior to the match, Men in Blue skipper Rohit Sharma has already said that the Indian squad is ready to face any challenge, citing highly motivated players and the recent Asia Cup 2023 tournament win. India had also convincingly defeated the Kangaroos 2-1 during a recent home series.
India, the current world number 1 ranked ODI side, look a complete side at the moment despite their two World Cup warm-up matches being washed out. The Indian side boasts arguable two of the best ODI batters at the top in the form of skipper Rohit Sharma and veteran batter Virat Kohli. Meanwhile, given the spin-friendly conditions expected in Chepauk, India also has a plethora of quality spin options in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
Australia, on the other hand, will look to continue their dominance in the ODI World Cup under captain Pat Cummins. While the first warm-up game for Kangaroos was washed out due to rain, they had closely defeated Pakistan in a high-scoring affair at Hyderabad.
In the clash against India, Aussies will depend heavily on the leg-spin of Adam Zampa with assistance from Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. In terms of pace bowling, it will be interesting to see if Australia can afford to have the trinity of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in their playing XI at Chepauk.
Here are the highlights:
- Pat Cummins won the toss for Australia and elected to bat first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
2. India go with a three-pronged spin attack at Chepauk with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Ashwin is playing at his home ground for the first time in a world cup match.
3. Shubman Gill, who is suffering from dengue fever, has been replaced by Ishan Kishan, who will open the batting with skipper Rohit Sharma.
4. Bumrah dismissed Mitchell Marsh at golden duck in the third over, as the Australian batter failed to open his account. Australia was 5/1 at that time.
5. With his classic wristspinner, Kuldeep Yadav sent set batter David Warner (41) to pavilion in the 17th over. At that time, Australia had scored 74 runs.
6. After Bumrah and Kuldeep, Ravindra Jadeja sent set batter Steve Smith (46) with his length ball in the 28th over.
7. Just after Steven Smith, Jadeja in the next over dismissed Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey, in the second and the fourth ball. With this, he has taken 3 wickets for India.
8. After Jadeja’s spell, Kuldeep just dismissed Glenn Maxwell (15), who lost his leg stump in the 35.5 over.
9. When everyone is taking wickets, how can Ashwin leave behind. He departed Cameron Green in the 37th over as he was caught by Hardik Pandya.
10. After the spinner did their work, Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was brought into attack and departed Pat Cummins in the 43rd over.
11. Hardik Pandya departed Adam Zampa in the 49th over, while Mohammed Siraj finished Australian innings by picking up his first 2023 World Cup wicket of Mitchell Starc.
12. The entire Australian innings was over at 199 and now India will have to chase 200-runs target with a run rate of 4 per over.
13. India were off to a tense start, losing the top three batters – Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for a duck. They were 18/3 in 6 overs, with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the middle.
14. India is at 27/3 at the end of 10 overs. The first powerplay was totally dominated by Australia, which sent back the top three Indian batters cheaply, and succeeded in maintaining the pressure.
15. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul tilted the game’s balance in India’s favour with their vital partnership. At the end of 20 overs, India was 80/3.
16. Kohli and Rahul, with their 100-plus runs partnership, have consolidated India’s position in the match. The team scored 120/3 at the end of 30 overs. Both the batters scored half centuries by this stage.
17. Kohli was finally dismissed after he scored a game-changing knock of 85 runs. It was Josh Hazlewood who picked up his wicket. Notably, Kohli’s catch was dropped when he was at the score of 12, off Hazlewood’s ball, by Mitchell Marsh.
18. Hardik Pandya, at number 6, came out with the intent to finish off the game quickly. Having spent only a few minutes on the crease, he began swinging his bat. He struck a six, the first for this Indian innings, against a quicker one bowled by Josh Hazlewood at the off stump. India reached 182/4 in 40 overs. Only 18 runs were needed to win as the final powerplay began.
19. India completed the run-chase in the 42nd over, with six wickets in hand. Rahul finished off in style by smashing a six to draw curtains over the match. He remained unbeaten at 97 off 115 balls.
20. With this win, India is at the 5th spot in the points table. The team shares 2 points each with New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but is placed behind them due to the comparatively lower run rate.
