In a thrilling encounter at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, India triumphed over arch-rivals Australia in their opening World Cup match. Chasing a target of 200 runs, India faced an early setback, losing key players Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer without a run on the board.
However, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli’s resilient 165-run partnership steadied the innings. Kohli’s 85 runs were crucial in India’s recovery. Hardik Pandya’s aggressive batting, including a vital six, brought India closer to victory. KL Rahul’s unbeaten 97 and a match-winning six sealed the win for India in the 42nd over, elevating them to the 5th spot in the points table.
Pat Cummins | Australia captain: At least 50-odd (short with the bat). It was tough, trying to defend anything under 200.. It was a really good bowling attack and their spinners made it tough work out there. I wasn’t too upset (with just two spinners), we had 20 overs of spin but some more runs on the board would have made the difference. I have already forgotten about it (the drop catch), it happens, 4/10 would have been a dream start. He (Hazlewood) is a class bowler and poses a lot of questions, stays in that area and was fantastic today. We have to review this one, absolutely a tough surface, but what if we are up against it then how would we do differently. Just one game out of nine, not too much to ponder about but there are some areas we need to get better. No (in hindsight would he have changed his decision at the toss?).