INDIA vs AUSTRALIA / Cricket World Cup 2023 Highlights

India vs Australia, Cricket World Cup 2023 Highlights: India chase 200 with 6 wickets to spare, KL Rahul 97 not out

India vs Australia, Cricket World Cup 2023 Highlights: India bounce back after losing three of their top batsmen in succession. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul put on a partnership of over 160 runs before the former skipper was dismissed on 85.

BATTLE OF CRICKET

India vs Australia, Cricket World Cup 2023 Highlights: India have won their first match of this World Cup against arch-rivals Australia. Victory came in the 42nd over, when he chased down a total of 200 for the loss of six wickets. KL Rahul, unbeaten on 97, and Virat Kohli, who scored 85, were the architects of the run chase. He made a partnership of 165 runs. The team started chasing runs on a shaky ground, with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer getting out for zero.

Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first in hot and humid conditions at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk). Ishan Kishan replaced the ailing Shibman Gul in the Indian playing XI while Ravichandran Ashwin also got a place at their home ground.

Despite losing the toss, the Indian bowlers did not disappoint and gave a tough time to the Australian batsmen, who could be seen struggling from the start.
Apart from David Warner (41) and Steve Smith (46), no other batsman could last long on the Chepak pitch, all thanks to the Indian bowling attack. The Australian batsmen could only score 199 runs in 49.3 overs and were all out. India now need only 200 runs at 4 rpo.

Every bowler showed his magic for India. Ravindra Jadeja was the most successful bowler who took 3 wickets while Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav took 2 and 2 wickets respectively. Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya and Mohammad Siraj also took one wicket each.

Ahead of the match, Men-in-Blue captain 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 won in the recent home series. The Kangaroos were also defeated 2-1 during

India, the current World No. 1 ODI-ranked team, looks a complete team at the moment despite missing two World Cup warm-up matches. The Indian team boasts two of the best ODI batsmen in the form of captain Rohit Sharma and veteran batsman Virat Kohli. Meanwhile, given the expected spin-friendly conditions in Chepak, India have 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 maintain their dominance in the ODI World Cup under the leadership of captain Pat Cummins. While the first warm-up match for the Kangaroos was lost due to rain, they narrowly beat Pakistan in a high-scoring affair in Hyderabad.

In the clash against India, Australia will rely heavily on Adam Zampa's legspin with support from Marence Libeschen and Steve Smith. In terms of fast bowling, it will be interesting to see if Australia can afford the trinity of Pete Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in their playing XI in Chepauk.

Here are the highlights

1.Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first for Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

2. India went with a three-pronged spin attack in Chepauk with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Ashwin is playing for the first time in a World Cup match at his home ground.

3. Ishan Kishan has been included in the team in place of Shibman Gul, who is suffering from dengue fever, who will open the batting along with captain Rohit Sharma.

4. Bumrah dismissed Mitchell Marsh for a golden duck in the third over, as the Australian batsman failed to open his account. Australia were then at 5/1.

5. With his classic wrist spinner, Kuldeep Yadav sends set batsman David Warner (41) to the pavilion in the 17th over. Australia's score at that time was 74 runs.

6. After Bumrah and Kuldeep, Ravindra Jadeja sent set batsman Steve Smith (46) with his length ball in the 28th over.

7. Soon after Steven Smith, Jadeja dismissed Marence Lebuschagne and Alex Carey on the second and fourth balls of the next over. With this he took 3 wickets for India.

8. After Jadeja's spell, Kuldeep dismissed only Glenn Maxwell (15), who lost his leg stump in 35.5 overs.

9. How can Ashwin stay behind when everyone else is taking wickets? He had Cameron Green caught out by Hardik Pandya in the 37th over.

10. After the spinner worked, Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was brought into the attack and dismissed Pat Cummins in the 43rd over.

11. Hardik Pandya dismissed Adam Zampa in the 49th over, while Mohammad Siraj ended Australia's innings by taking Mitchell Starc's first wicket of the 2023 World Cup.

12. Australia's innings all out for 199 and now India have to chase down a target of 200 runs at a run rate of 4 per over.

13. India had a torrid start, losing their top three batsmen – Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for wickets. They were 18/3 in 6 overs, with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the middle.

14. India are 27/3 at the end of 10 overs. Australia dominated the first powerplay, sending back the top three Indian batsmen cheaply, and managed to keep the pressure on.

15. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul tilted the balance of the game in India's favor with their crucial partnership. At the end of 20 overs, India's score was 80/3.

16. Kohli and Rahul have cemented India's position in the match with their 100-plus run partnership. The team scored 120/3 at the end of 30 overs. Both the batsmen have scored half-centuries till this stage.

17. Kohli was finally dismissed after he played a game-changing innings of 85 runs. Josh Hazlewood took his wicket. Notably, Kohli's catch was dropped when he was dismissed by Mitchell Marsh off Hazlewood for 12.

18. Hardik Pandya, at No. 6, comes out with the intention of ending the game early. After spending just a few minutes at the crease, he started swinging his bat. He hit a six, the first for this Indian innings, against a quick one bowled by Josh Hazlewood over the off-stump. India reached 182/4 in 40 overs. Just 18 runs were needed for victory as the final powerplay began.

19. India complete the run chase in the 42nd over, with six wickets remaining. Rahul hit a six to end the match in a curtain-raiser. He remained not out by scoring 97 runs off 115 balls.

20. With this win, India is 5th in the points table. The team has 2 points each with New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but is behind them due to their relatively low run rate.