Team India led by Rohit Sharma got off to a superb start to their World Cup 2023 campaign by getting the better of the Australian cricket team at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Australian skipper Pat Cummins who won the toss opted to bat first on a tricky batting surface, which proved to be a daunting task for the batsmen to go about their business in the first half of the game.
Australian batters literally found it difficult to score runs and they ended up losing wickets at regular intervals. There was hardly any stability shown by the Australian batsmen as the Men in Yellow were bowled out for 199 runs, with Steve Smith top-scoring for the Aussies with 46 runs.
On the other side of the coin, Ravindra Jadeja was the best performer for India with the ball as he took 3/28 in his quota of ten overs. In reply to Australia’s target, Team India landed themselves in turmoil after losing three of their top-order batters for a duck.
Sachin Tendulkar has his say on the India vs Australia game
Despite losing the top-order batsmen for cheap scores, India found a great deal of support in the form of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli as the duo added a match-winning 165-run liaison for the fourth wicket which sealed the deal.
Virat Kohli scored 85 runs including six fours before he was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood and on the other hand, KL Rahul remained not out on 97* (8 fours and 2 sixes). India won the game by six wickets in 41.2 overs and started their World Cup 2023 venture on a positive note.
KL Rahul was named the Man of the Match for his batting masterclass and after the game, Sachin Tendulkar took to his X handle and expressed his views. “I was surprised to see Australia bat first after winning the toss. Commendable performance by the Indian bowlers to restrict them to 199. Australia started well but I felt they missed a left-arm spinner on this surface,” Sachin added.
“The partnership between Virat and Rahul sealed the game for us. They very smartly took their time and were able to execute some superb shots. The ball surely came onto the bat much better in the second half of the game. Congratulations to #TeamIndia on a good start,” the Master Blaster tweeted.
I was surprised to see Australia bat first after winning the toss. Commendable performance by the Indian bowlers to restrict them to 199. Australia started well but I felt they missed a left-arm spinner on this surface. The partnership between Virat and Rahul sealed the game for… pic.twitter.com/qUr21Vaqxb
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 8, 2023
Also Read: 3 Australians with Most Hundreds in a ICC ODI World Cup
