In India’s perspective, particularly Kohli and Rahul, the match was anything but easy. The situation looked dire when Iyer was dismissed at the end of the second over, with Kishan, Rohit, and Iyer all failing to score (getting out for a duck). Australia had a strong advantage, and the score was a mere 2/3. This is when Kohli and Rahul joined forces, showcasing their experience and handling the pressure exceptionally well.
Kohli had a stroke of luck when Marsh dropped him at 12 runs off Hazlewood, but aside from that, their partnership was flawless. Both consistently added runs to the scoreboard, reached their respective half-centuries, and established the highest partnership for India against Australia in World Cup matches. They were on track to finish the game, but Kohli attempted to take on Australia’s top bowler, Hazlewood, and got dismissed.
KL Rahul earned the player of the match award for his outstanding unbeaten innings of 97, which played a pivotal role in India’s six-wicket victory.
Early in the morning, Pat Cummins-led Australia won the toss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, and decided to bat first.
Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja delivered an outstanding performance, restricting the Australian batting lineup to a total of 199 runs on Sunday.
In the first powerplay, Warner led the Australian batting lineup and helped them score 43 runs.
Australia reached the 50-run mark in the 10.4 overs.
The left-handed batsman Warner started the inning well and scored 41 runs from 52 balls with a strike rate of 78.85 until Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav dismissed him at the 16.3 over.
Australia crossed the 100-run mark after playing 145 balls in 24.1 overs.
Just when Smith and Marnus Labuschagne started building up a solid partnership, Ravindra Jadeja picked up his first wicket of the match and dismissed Smith for 46 runs in the 27.1 overs, when Australia was at 110/3.
Jadeja did not stop there and dismissed Labuschagne for 27 runs in the 29.2 overs. Labuschagne tried to slog-sweep as he went down on his knee; however, the bat took an edge and went straight into KL Rahul’s palms. The Aussie batsman discussed with Maxwell and went for a review, but it was wasted.
Alex Carey replaced Labuschagne on the crease, and Jadeja did not waste any time dismissing him when the Aussies were at 119/5. Carey failed to score any runs after playing two balls.
