On Sunday, October 8 at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, India’s 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign got underway with a match against Australia. When Australia decided to bat first, the Indian spinners weaved a web around their batting order, and they were bowled out for 199.
The Rohit Sharma-led team’s response was in serious difficulty as they reached 2/3 in the opening two overs. Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer were all ejected for having a duck. However, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul’s century partnership helped to steady the Indian innings and lead the team to safety.
When facing the Australian pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, Kohli’s innings got off to a poor start. In the sixth over, the star batsman left his crease to drive Hazlewood for a boundary down the ground. This was the start of his innings. The standout Indian hitter skillfully hammered the ball to the fence for his first boundary of the game to get things underway.
Watch Kohli shot here:
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Virat Kohli fails to get his 48th ODI century
The top Indian batsman continued to play a magnificent innings, scoring six fours in his innings of 85 (116). He and KL Rahul shared a stand of 165 runs, which enabled India bounce back from the early blows.
India was able to chase down the mark of 200 in 41.2 overs and win the match by six wickets thanks to their outstanding stand. KL Rahul completed the game in grand fashion with a magnificent lofted cover drive that went for six to maintain his unblemished record at 97* (115).
India will face Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 11, at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi after defeating Australia. On the other side, on Thursday, October 12 in Lucknow, Australia will play South Africa.
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