India got off the mark and registered their first win in their first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Sunday against Australia at Chennai. Modern-day great Virat Kohli and classy KL Rahul performed well with the bat, while Ravindra Jadeja delivered with the ball to save the day for India. Wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul played a gem of an innings alongside Kohli after a deceptive start by the Indian top order. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (36 years, 161 days) became the oldest captain to lead Team India in World Cup history.
Australian captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first on the extremely hot day in Chennai. India played with three spinners as expected, and Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah were selected as the pacers. The Aussies failed to post even an average total and were bundled out for 199 in 49.3 overs. Indian fans were worried after India got off to a horrible start while chasing, but chase master Kohli and KL Rahul pulled the team out of trouble and guided them to their first win.
India chased down the target of 200 in 41.2 overs, losing 4 wickets in the process. This ensured the first ever World Cup loss for Australia at Chepauk Stadium. Additionally, this is only the fourth loss for Australia in 19 World Cup matches played in India. All ten teams have played a match each at the ODI World Cup 2023, and India is currently placed fifth with a net run-rate (NRR) of +0.883.
India’s Spin Trio was Right on the Money
Jasprit Bumrah struck early in the match as he dismissed Australian opener Mitchell Marsh for a duck. It was the first time ever that an Australian opener had been dismissed by India for a duck in the history of the ODI World Cup. By grabbing Marsh’s catch at slips, Kohli (15) surpassed the record of Anil Kumble (14), who holds the record for the most catches by a non-wicketkeeper for India in ODIs.
Following the wicket of Marsh, David Warner and Steven Smith played steady cricket and formed a 69-run partnership for the second wicket. Warner crossed 1000 ODI World Cup runs in 19 innings, becoming the fastest batsman to do so after Sachin Tendulkar and AB de Villiers, both of whom achieved the feat in 20 innings.
Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav broke the threatening partnership and removed Warner (41 off 52) from the crease. Once again, a small 36-run partnership developed between Marnus Labuschagne and Smith, but the spell of Jadeja turned the tide in India’s favor as he dismissed Smith (46 off 71), Marnus Labuschagne (27 off 41), and Alex Carey (0 off 2) in back-to-back overs. Kuldeep struck again, bowling out Glenn Maxwell (15 off 25). Ravichandran Ashwin, who bowled beautifully, got the prize of it as he dismissed Cameron Green (8 off 20). At one point, Aussies were 140-7, where Mitchell Starc (28 off 35) and Cummins (15 off 24) ensured some respectability to the total.
Hardik Pandya got Adam Zampa, and Siraj and Bumrah cleaned up Starc and Cummins, leading to Australia getting bowled out for 199. Jadeja had bowling figures of 10-2-28-3, while Kuldeep had figures of 10-0-42-2. Ashwin’s economical spell of 10-1-34-1 further put pressure on the visitors.
With this spell, Jadeja became the second Indian spinner after Maninder Singh (3/34, 1987) to register a 3-fer against Australia in the World Cup. Jadeja (37) became the 3rd highest wicket-taker for India against Australia in ODIs. Moreover, Jadeja’s 3/28 is the best bowling figure by an Indian spinner against Australia in an ODI World Cup match. Australia lost six wickets to spinners, which is their joint-most in an ODI World Cup match. They went from 110/2 to 199 all out.
India’s Top Order had the Fans on Pins and Needles
For once, the game had the fans on tenterhooks as India lost 3 wickets for 2 runs while chasing. Starc dismissed Ishan for a duck in the very first over, and Hazlewood, in his first over, sent Rohit and Shreyas Iyer to the pavilion. This was the first time in history that India lost 3 wickets for 2 runs in an ODI. It was only the second time that India lost both their openers for a duck in an ODI World Cup, with the first instance occurring during the 1983 World Cup edition against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge.
Also, this was the first time in ODIs that India had three batters out of the top four dismissed without scoring. Ishan Kishan was the 50th victim of Starc in the World Cup, and he took only 941 balls to achieve this, which is the fewest by any bowler. Additionally, Starc now ranks as the 5th bowler with the most wickets in ODI World Cups.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul Pulled the Team’s Chestnuts Out of the Fire
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul steadied the ship after India received body blows from Aussie pacers. The audience at the Chepauk had their hearts in their mouths when Kohli got a top edge of his bat while trying to pull a short ball from Josh Hazelwood’s delivery in the 8th over. The ball popped up into the air, and by Australian standards, it was an easy catch, but it was dropped by Mitchell Marsh at the leg side. It’s safe to say that Marsh dropped the match at that moment, as Kohli and KL Rahul didn’t give any more chances to the Aussies after that.
Kohli scored 85 runs off 116 balls, and KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 97 off 115 balls. Both batters proceeded with the innings step by step with care as they built a 165-run partnership. This partnership became the second-highest partnership for the 4th wicket or below for India in World Cups and also the highest partnership for India against Australia in World Cups.
With his 85-run innings, the 34-year-old Kohli recorded his third-highest score in an ODI World Cup. It was also his 9th fifty-plus score for India in an ODI World Cup, the second joint-most by any Indian after Sachin Tendulkar, who achieved it 21 times. Additionally, it was Kohli’s 113th fifty-plus score in ODIs, which is the most by any non-opener, surpassing Kumar Sangakkara’s 112.
Moreover, Kohli, with 2785 runs in 64 innings, accumulated the most runs for India in ICC limited-over tournaments, surpassing Tendulkar’s 2719 runs in 58 innings. KL Rahul’s unbeaten 97 was the third-highest score for India against Australia in an ODI World Cup.
However, Kohli missed out on his 48th ODI century by just 15 runs after Hazelwood removed him from the crease in the 38th over. Hardik Pandya entered the crease after Kohli’s departure to fulfill his responsibility, and both Rahul and Hardik kick-started India’s World Cup campaign with a win.
No Qualms on not Getting to that Hundred – KL Rahul
KL Rahul, after winning the Player of the Match, said in the post-match presentation that there wasn’t much conversation with Virat Kohli when he walked out to bat at 2/3. He mentioned that Kohli advised him to play like Test cricket due to the conditions. He described the pitch as having some assistance for both pacers and spinners, especially with the new ball. He further acknowledged that the wicket was two-paced and not the easiest to bat on.
“(On walking out at 2/3) Quite honestly not a lot of conversation, I thought I’d get a good shower and get a break. I was just trying to get my breath back. Virat said there’s a bit in the wicket, so play like Test cricket for a while. There was a bit of help for the pacers with the new ball, and then the spinners also. In the last 15-20 overs, dew played a part and that helped quite a bit. The ball also skidded on better,” said KL Rahul.
“However, it was a bit two-paced, it wasn’t the easiest of wickets to bat on and it wasn’t flat as well. It was a good cricket wicket, bit for the batters and the bowlers. That’s what you get in the south of India, especially Chennai. (On the last six) I hit it too well, I just calculated how to get to a 100 in the end. The only way was a four and a six, but no qualms on not getting to that hundred,” he added.