Virat Kohli and KL Rahul
The first 10 minutes of the second innings was nothing but a rewind of India’s last match of 2019 World Cup against New Zealand and a heartbreak. The first 12 balls off the second innings proved to be a nightmare for every Indian fan with heart beat per minute touching almost 100. In space of mere 2 overs, India lost captain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. To add to misery, the trio failed to even open their account. However, Virat Kohli, who has become synonymous of One-Day Internationals, once again came for India’s rescue along with dependable KL Rahul and helped India to register an emphatic 6-wicket win against Australia at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.
KL Rahul walked out to bat when Indian dressing room and the fans had almost lost hope of winning the game. However, KL Rahul once again showed his class and played maturely. He made sure that the pressure doesn’t looms on chase master Virat Kohli. KL Rahul was able to find the gaps and almost played run-a-ball for his 97 off 115 balls. His innings gathered praises from around the globe with ex-cricketer wanting him to bat at number 4 from next game onwards. Virat Kohli on the other hand scored 85 off 116 deliveries. His innings was a pure example of class, skills, and most importantly
Sitting at a distance and watching the duo play, made me and every Indian fan believe that Indian team is finally on the track of absorbing pressure. Especially in matches like these.
Earlier in the day, Chepauk welcomed two teams with scorching heat and 32,531 fans. Thankfully for Australia, the seats in Chepauk Stadium are yellow and with stadium capacity being 38,000, the remainder of the vacant seats was the only support they could see in the stadium. The fans gathered outside the stadium roughly 3 hours prior to the game, screaming at the top of their voice – ‘India..India’. Most of the fans showed their love for the side by wearing team’s official jersey. While a few carried placards, the others carried flags – but one thing that remained constant was their prayers, which, in the end, prove to be most important.
Though the past stats don’t play a big role in player’s life, however, in the world of digitalization, everyone is still aware about them. Since 1996, the Australian team hasn’t lost their first game at the ODI World Cup. However, as they say, ‘records are meant to be broken’. The Indian spinners stamped their authority on Aussies and ripped them apart on Chepauk wicket in Chennai. The trio- Ravindra Jadeja, Ravinchandran Ashwin, and Kuldeep Yadav picked a total of 6 wickets between them.
Interestingly, where India picked three proper spinners in their playing 11 for the game, Australia picked just Adam Zampa. With how the pitch responded, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Australia missed a big trick by not having an extra spinner in their squad as their second spin bowling option is Glenn Maxwell or on some days Steve Smith. Thankfully for men-in-yellow, the speedsters Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood responded beautifully to the conditions and made Indian batters work really hard for their runs. In space of 3 overs, India lost 3 wickets with all three batters – Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer departing for 0.
Opting to bat first first, Pat Cummins’ Australia didn’t get off to a great start as they lost Mitchell Marsh early in the innings, courtesy to Jasprit Bumrah’s extraordinary bowling and Virat Kohli’s sensational skills in the slip cordon.
Mitchell Marsh didn’t trouble the scorers at all and got out for a duck. His departure led Steve Smith’s arrival at the crease. Steve Smith partnered with David Warner and provided much-needed stability to the Australian team. The duo saw the new ball closely and took their chances only on the loose balls. Both Smith and Warner anchored the innings and rotated the strike well. With a blend of discipline and intensity, the duo managed to put up a partnership of 69 runs for the second wicket.
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was on song against the five-time champions as he managed to rotate the bowlers nicely and from a distance, it looked that all players are very much aware about their respective roles in the side. On the other hand, except for Steve Smith and David Warner, Australian team looked absolutely clueless with the bat. Spin turned out to be algebra for them, while heat took over their batters like never before.
To add more to their worry in Chennai, Australia lost wickets in pair which made it difficult for the coming batters to get settled on the wicket. Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey lost their wicket when team’s total was 119, while Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green lost their wicket when team’s total was 140.
As Australia was approaching end of their innings, Mitchell Starc showed the world that he can bat as well. The 33-year-old Starc scored 28 runs off 35 balls. In the end, India was able to restrict Australia for 1 less than 200 runs and didn’t let Aussies bat their whole quota of 50 overs.
From the first innings, the biggest positives for India turned out to be – all bowlers were able to pick at least 1 wicket, captaincy brilliance from Rohit Sharma, and most importantly, the catching from men-in-blue has been up to the mark.
From the second innings, the questions would certainly be on how Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer threw their wicket away. Both Kishan and Iyer played rash shots which resulted India to be in position as they were before Rahul and Kohli came for rescue.
India will now play against Afghanistan on 11 October at Arun Jaitely Stadium in New Delhi. It will be interesting to see if Shubman Gill is available for selection. If yes, then who will make way for him. Will it be Ishan Kishan or Shreyas Iyer? – Well, time will only tell.