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.
KL Rahul | Player of the Match: (On walking out at 2/3) Quite honestly not a lot of conversation, I thought I’d get a good shower and get a break. I was just trying to get my breath back. Virat said there’s a bit in the wicket, so play like Test cricket for a while. There was a bit of help for the pacers with the new ball, and then the spinners also. In the last 15-20 overs, dew played a part and that helped quite a bit. The ball also skidded on better. However, it was a bit two-paced, it wasn’t the easiest of wickets to bat on and it wasn’t flat as well. It was a good cricket wicket, bit for the batters and the bowlers. That’s what you get in the south of India, especially Chennai. (On the last six) I hit it too well, I just calculated how to get to a 100 in the end. The only way was a four and a six, but no qualms on not getting to that hundred.