The battle of the two favorites and a top contender to win the World Cup was going to be fought on the 8th of October at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. It was a highly anticipated match with a history of amazing clashes between them in World Cup history.
1st Innings:
Australia won the toss and was elected to Bat first. It seems quite unordinary when Australia chooses to bat.
Bumrah, the go-to bowler for India in powerplay draws the first blood of Australia by picking dangerous All-rounder Mitchell Marsh on a duck and putting Australia under pressure. After not so good start, David Warner and Steve Smith put up a 69-run stand for the second wicket.
However, on a full-length ball, Warner wants to go down the ground but gives a simple catch straight into the hands of Kuldeep Yadav.
Even after that Smith and Labuschagne move ahead for a decent partnership total but Jadeja has different plans.
Again with an unplayable turn from middle stump to off, Smith goes to defend it in front foot but gets beaten by the turn and the ball hits the off-stump. And all of a sudden the score of Australian batting collapsed from 110/3 to 140/7.
The tailenders batted well and fought hard to take the scoreboard to 199 but all-out with 3 balls short to the 50th over.
India’s bowlers were excellent throughout the innings. Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/38, while Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets each
2nd Innings:
Even in this humid weather and dry pitch, Australia steps in with 3-pacers and 1-spinner to defend this total. The Pacers wouldn’t disappoint the captain and sent the top 3 Batsman of India at the score of 0(zero).
The score was 2-3(2 runs for 3 wickets), seems like Australian bowlers are in the mood to play a football match. KL Rahul comes at no.5 with Virat Kohli on the crease.
With such a poor start in the chase with 3 wickets of Captain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer, there are still hopes for Indian fans because the man of the chases Virat Kohli was there. KL Rahul and Kohli batted with great patience and composure and gradually rebuilt the Indian innings to build a partnership of 165 and pull the match into India’s favor.
With 97*, KL Rahul won the man of the match and played one of the best knocks under pressure for India.
Key Moments
After an early wicket, David Warner and Smith take control of the innings and have a partnership of 69 but with an easy catch Kuldeep dismissed Warner.
Again Australia moving ahead with positive runs between Smith and Labuschagne, but as per stats Smith always struggles against Jadeja and gives his wicket to him.
After Smith’s dismissal, Australia collapsed and it looked like even 160 was hard to score with this batting, but the tailenders played a steady knock to take the total 199 for the Australian innings.
3 wickets for Jadeja, 2-2 wickets for Bumrah and Kuldeep, and a perfect bowling performance as expected by the skipper Rohit Sharma.
The crowd at Chepauk was ready for a run chase, the batters were down into the middle, but in a span of the first 3 overs, India lost 3 wickets with 2 runs on the board.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul put on a magnificent 165-run partnership for the fourth wicket, which turned the match in India’s favor.
Kohli’s 85-run knock and KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 97 as India chased down the target in 41.2 overs, winning by six wickets.
Virat, Warner, Starc, and India scripts records in IND vs AUS
David Warner became the fastest batsman to score 1000 runs in 19 innings in the World Cup, followed by Sachin Tendulkar and AB Devilliers took 20 innings to score.
Mitchell Starc became the fastest bowler to take 50 World Cup wickets in 19 innings beating Lasith Malinga, who took 26 innings to achieve this feat.
Kohli became the highest run scorer while chasing a total of 5517 runs in 92 innings followed by Sachin Tendulkar scored 5490 runs in 124 innings.
This is the first time Australia lost an opening match of the World Cup since 1992.
Conclusion:
India’s victory over Australia in the 2023 Cricket World Cup was a comprehensive one. They bowled brilliantly to restrict Australia to a below-par score, and then they chased down the target with ease.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were the stars of the show for India. They put on a magnificent 165-run partnership for the fourth wicket, which turned the match in India’s favor.
The victory was a major boost for India’s World Cup campaign. It showed that they are in good form and that they are capable of beating the best teams in the world.
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