KL Rahul finished the chase of 200 with a six as India defeated Australia by 6 wickets to register their first win in the ICC Cricket World Cup match no. 5 in Chennai on Sunday. Half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Rahul, followed by a resilient 165-run partnership between them for the fourth wicket saw India recover from a horrific top-order collapse and win the game with 52 balls to spare.
India had just 200 runs to chase but the pursuit began in a horrendous fashion. Ace Australian pacer Mitchell Starc took down Ishan Kishan right in the opening over, turning all Indian supporters at the Chepauk silent. The wicketkeeper-batter went after the moving ball and ended up nicking it to Cameron Green at the first slip.
Things got worse for India in the next over when Josh Hazlewood produced a double wicket maiden, getting rid of Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer in the same over. The Australian speedster trapped the Indian captain with a sharp inswinger and then forced Iyer to play through covers that went directly into the hands of David Warner.
India’s score read 2 for 3 in 1.5 when Virat Kohli and KL Rahul joined forces and instantly began the rescue work. No risk-taking and playing to merit of the ball – this was the simple formula applied by the duo which saw them bailing out India from a precarious situation.
Kohli took 75 balls to get to his fifty while Rahul brought half a ton off 72 deliveries after stitching a 100-run stand for the 4th wicket.
In the 38th over, Kohli tried pulling a short ball from Hazlewood but holed out to Marnus Labuschagne at mid-wicket. Though the Aussies celebrated the wicket but it was too late by then. Kohli received a standing ovation on his way back to the dressing room for his valiant 85-run knock off 116 balls.
Rahul was then joined by Hardik Pandya and they tried shifting gears with some lofted shots. The vice-captain hit a six and then Rahul joined the party with two more, finishing the game with 52 balls to spare. The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 97 off 115 balls while Pandya scored 11 not-out off 8 balls.
Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja led India’s spin-charge with figures of 3-28 to bowl out Australia for 199 in a key clash of the ODI World Cup on Sunday.
Five-time champions Australia won the toss and elected to bat first at Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in the 150th ODI meeting between the two cricket powerhouses, who opened their campaigns in the showpiece event.
But the Australian innings ended in 49.3 overs as Jadeja stood out in his 10 overs of left-arm spin. Fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets each.
Australia lost an early wicket before veteran batsmen David Warner (41) and Steve Smith (46) hit back in a partnership of 69.
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