Team India opened their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign with a comprehensive six-wicket victory over Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday (October 8).
Asked to bowl first, the hosts bundled out Australia for a below-par total of 199 in 49.3 overs. Ravindra Jadeja (3-28), Jasprit Bumrah (2-35) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-42) ran through the Aussie batting line-up with seven wickets among them.
Chasing the paltry target, the Men in Blue were reduced to 2/3 in just two overs. The trio of Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer fell for a duck. While Mitchell Starc got rid of Kishan in the very first over, Josh Hazlewood struck in the following over by dismissing Rohit and Iyer.
Amid the pressure situation, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul rose to the occasion for India, adding 165 runs for the fourth wicket to put Australia on the backfoot.
While Kohli got out after scoring 85 off 116 balls, Rahul held the one end firmly and stayed unbeaten on 97 off 115 balls alongside Hardik Pandya (11*) to take India over the line with 52 deliveries to spare.
For their stunning display with the bat, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli received rich praise from the cricket fraternity on social media platform X.
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